Permafrost
by Millie M. Banshee
Summary: After Pitch breaks Jack's staff it's was never the same. It's losing power. So MiM tells Jack about another staff called the Permafrost. But the staff is locked away in a fortress set with 7 dangerous traps. It is a suicide mission that he must face alone. Well, not completely. It seems Pitch as the key to the vault. Can he be trusted with Jack? Alone? Short story. Only 2 chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Permafrost

Two Shot Story

(A/N I decided to have a little fun with a not so simple 2 chapter story. Please, sit back and relax. This I'm hoping will be fun and nail biting.)

SUM: Although completely fixed, Jack's staff has never been quite the same since Pitch broke it in two and it's really starting to show. Jack needs to do something about it, but he doesn't know what to do. MiM tells Jack that there is another ice staff out there called the Permafrost. It is the strongest staff ever created and was owned by Father Winter. Only problem is that it's hidden in a fortress riddled with traps to protect it. On top of that there are a couple more catches. The other Guardians cannot help him and Pitch Black owns the key to the vault. What is Jack to do and how well will he fair against the traps given to him?

**SOUNDS/sounds**

_Thoughts_

_**MiM's Voice**_

00000000000000000000000000000 A TALK WITH MIM 0000000000000000000000000000

Jack roughly landed on a large snow covered tree branch, struggling to catch his balance briefly. He let out a sigh before turning to look at his staff. It had been acting odd these last few months. It had slowly started to lose its power after the battle with Pitch. Jack concluded it may have to do with the fact it had been snapped in half.

He sat down and examined the staff. He could make out the fine outline of where the brake had been. He rubbed his thumb over it lightly. It was getting hard to even control the wind now much less tamper with the weather. He knew sooner or later the staff would become useless to him. He had tried once to see if North could mend it better but there was no luck with that.

How could he be Guardian with his staff like this? Scooted along the branch to rest against the tree trunk. He looked up at the dark sky dotted with stars and one large full moon over his head. He looked up at the moon and let out another sigh.

"What am I going to do?" Jack breathed, holding up his staff at the large round orb. "My crook is losing its power little by little. It's now gotten to the point that I can barely control the Wind to keep me up. You must have noticed, right? I'd given it another month at most…"

Jack grew silent in hopes that he would hear the distant voice of MiM. He waited a few minutes feeling the cold air rush through his silver locks. Wasn't MiM going to answer him at all? He was a Guardian now after all. Jack slumped a bit, turning his blue eyes from the sky to the snow covered treetops.

"Still not talking to me, huh? I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up," Jack muttered, closing his eyes. "What kind of Guardian can I be like this? I'm going to be completely powerless soon. What can I possibly do like this?"

_**I'm not ignoring you, Jack. I have noticed your current problem.**_

Jack sat up as straight as a rod. His gaze was now once again fixated on the moon. Did her really hear that? Was that really MiM? He got up to his bare feet never once waving his stare.

"So did hear me? Then you've got to know what's going on with my staff," Jack smiled, holding up his staff again. "How can I fix it? There has to be some way."

_**That staff is beyond repair. You may have mended it but the damage has been done, I'm afraid. I only gave it power because it was the tool you used to save your sister. It was never really meant hold magic in the first place. It was only by your own willpower that you mended it.**_

Jack slowly lowered his staff and looked at it sadly. That can't be. The staff was soon going to be rendered useless. He had grown so attached it what was he going to do with it now? After all these years the staff was a part of him. Everything in him tightened. What was he going to do? He was losing a big part of himself.

_**Jack, your staff may not hold much power anymore but it may hold out just long enough to complete a task. If you are willing, of course.**_

"A task? What sort of task?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

_**There is another staff out there far more powerful that your old crook will ever be.**_

Jack looked highly intrigued by this. There's another staff? One even more powerful than his own?

"What? Where is it?" Jack questioned.

_**The question is not so much where it is but how you will obtain it. The staff is called the "Permafrost." It is the most power ice staff out there, however, it is locked away deep inside a mountain fortress. The fortress is guarded by various beings and traps. Many have tried to get their hands on it and the very few that have managed to close enough to the vault only to find they have no key.**_

"Then what good is that going to do me if I somehow make it through all these traps and I can't open the vault?" Jack stated, plopping back down on the branch.

_**Yes, well, this is where things get a bit more complicated. I just happened to know where the key is, however…**_

"Yeah, I'm listening," Jack nodded, looking wide-eyed at the moon. "So… Where is it?"

_**The key is with Pitch Black.**_

Jack's face paled even more at the thought of that. Seriously, Pitch owned the key? He ran his long fingers though his hair and let out shaking breath. Just how was he going to get the key from Pitch?

"With Pitch? Oh, man… Wow... This is not going to be easy," Jack said, looking a touch nervous. "Maybe I should get Sandy to help."

_**No, the other Guardians must not help you in this task. This is solely for you to achieve. The Permafrost was forged by your predecessor Father Winter. If anyone should own that staff it's you, Jack. The staff can be found in the Himalayan Mountains at Cho Oyu on the Nepal-Tibet boards. This will be a great undertaking and just so you know you may not come back should you fail.**_

May not come back? Oh, boy, that didn't sound good. Not at all. Was this Permafrost staff worth it? Grant it, he was going to lose his powers shortly. He had to at least try and see what he could do while he still had his powers. He might as well try it. He can't be a Guardian otherwise. He got back to his feet again and let out a hard breath.

"Well… I'll give it a shot. If I don't try I'll most likely end up regretting it later on," Jack said, resting his staff on his shoulder. "So it's at Cho Oyu, huh? Okay, yeah… I'll do it."

_**Good luck, Jack. Just remember Pitch has the key to the Vault.**_

"Oh, trust me I didn't forget that," Jack nodded. "Well, I might as well get this ball rolling. Thanks."

Jack gripped his staff and took back off toward Burgess. He was unsteady as he went but that was the only opening to Pitch's lair that he knew of. It would be late summer there now. Not something he was looking forward to. Heat did not do well with him.

0000000000000000000000000 ACQUIRING THE KEY 000000000000000000000000000

When Jack arrived at his hometown it was dusk and the air was hot and dry. He thought about briefly about seeing Jamie and the others for a moment but he really didn't want to show him how weak he was getting. He just decided to go to the old pond and look for the hole. He landed on grass near the bank. He had looked around in the twilight for the hole. Each step he took froze the grass before it quickly melted. He looked all over for the hole but it was nowhere to be seen. How was he going to get to Pitch then? He had no other idea on how to get to the cave.

He remembered roughly where it was but… Getting flustered he started kicking at the ground. He suddenly let out a light yelp finding a good sized chunk of splintered wood in his food. He pulled it and noticed that it had a right angle to it. The bed frame? So it must be here. But where? He gripped his staff and started pounding it on the ground. Maybe with the ground being hollow underneath it would make a different sound. He crouched down listening for any change in sound. It took him a couple of minutes but he found it. Now he just needed to break through it.

He started slamming his staff on the ground but it was as hard as rock. He couldn't break through it so he'd start digging. He started by ripping out the grass before grabbing a rock and actually started digging. How far down did have to go he had no idea. He just kept at it until finally he saw a small hole open up and a little air rushed out of it. Finally he was getting somewhere. He kept digging with the rock before be he was able to pull large chunks of earth out with his hands. The hole was now just big enough for him to slide through.

He dropped in his feet first before finally scooting in all the way. The fall was quick but he caught himself, landing silently on the ground. He had a look around it. Pitch's lair looked to be in shambles. Jack was careful of where he stepped as there were sharp rocks and items scattered everywhere. The place was in such a mess Jack even wondered if Pitch was even still here.

He continued on deeper into the dark fortress keeping an eye out for a Nightmare or an ambush from Pitch. Jack looked high and low for the Nightmare King. The cave was massive now that he was actually looking around. He had been looking now for nearly 30 minutes and found no sign of Pitch anywhere. Just where was he? Perhaps he really had abandoned this place. In all honestly Jack wouldn't blame if he did. This was hopeless. Pitch wasn't here. Jack let out a long sigh and turned on his heel only to nearly run into his target.

"What are you doing here, Jack?" Pitch bit out with a snarl, his arms were folded tightly cross his chest.

"Uh, well… Uh…" Jack stumbled over his words, taking a couple of steps back.

It was clear Pitch was not is the best of moods. His gold/silver eyes were narrowed and his lips were pursed tightly together. At this point Jack realized Pitch was more or less protecting his territory. Jack fully understood the aggression Pitch was displaying in his body language. Jack cleared his throat a bit as Pitch's glare deepened.

"Well, I'm looking for something…" Jack stated with a grin. "I-I was told you have it."

"Were you planning on stealing whatever this item is from me? Is that why you tiptoeing around?" Pitch inquired, leaning in over Jack. "Get out of my home. Now."

"No! What I mean is…" Jack tried to come with an answer but if fell short.

"Get out! Or I will make you," Pitch ordered, forming his large black sand scythe.

"I need a key," Jack bit out holding up his staff in defense as Pitch raised is scythe. "That's all I need from you! It's a key to open a vault at Cho Oyu!"

"Cho Oyu? Aleister de Winter's old fortress?" Pitch asked, looking oddly at the younger spirit before a wicked smile split his face. "Oh, I see. You're after Permafrost, aren't you? Hahaha! You honestly think just because you asked me that I'd just hand it over? Ha! Not even once!"

Pitch brought the scythe down as Jack quickly jumped out of the way. Hey, it was worth a shot. So, in the end he had to fight Pitch over the key. Pitch's moves were slower than what Jack remembered, meaning Pitch was still rather weak from their previous battle. Jack might have the advantage but could he even fight Pitch with his staff in such poor condition? Honestly, Pitch wasn't giving him an option and Jack needed that key.

Jack sent a stream of ice at Pitch knocking the dark spirit back but not for long. Pitch charged again and swung. The dark blade barely made contacted with Jack's nose but it was enough to leave a fine scratch. Pitch was clearly adamant about protecting his home. Jack jumped up and kicked Pitch in the face. The Nightmare King stumbled but managed to keep his balance. That only succeeded in making him even angrier. Pitch clinched his teeth, hard, and charge furiously at Jack.

Jack barely had time to duck as Pitch brought the scythe down. Damn, an inch closer and that would have taken his arm off. Jack really needed a plan if he was ever going to get that key from Pitch. He quickly put some distance between him and Pitch. Not much but enough. Hopefully Pitch wouldn't notice until it was too late. Jack started to coat the floor in a thin layer of frost. He only had one shot at this. He doubted Pitch would fall for it again.

"You've gotten slow, Pitch," Jack taunted at the dark spirit. "Want to try that again? I'm wide open!"

"You cocky little…" Pitch growled out before racing at Jack again.

However, the moment Pitch's feet hit the ice he realized he had very little traction. Jack wasted no time and jumped up into the air and coming back down. He used both feet against Pitch's head this time. The Nightmare King went down hard and Jack quickly put his staff under his chin, pressing in a bit on Pitch's throat.

"Drop the scythe," Jack ordered as little ice started form around Pitch's neck and chin. "Drop it! Now!"

Pitch let go of the scythe as it turned to sand. Jack wasn't about to let Pitch up until everything was settled. Preferably, with words rather than actions. Pitch glared up at Jack with a great bit of hate in his eyes. To be beaten in his own home was shameful. Pitch's lips curled into a snarl.

"Where's that key?" Jack demanded, digging a little deeper in Pitch's throat.

"Why should I tell you?" Pitch replied bitterly. "You break into him home and attack me."

"Now, I did try asking first," Jack answered quickly. "But that didn't seem to work either. So, what's it going to be? I'm asking as nicely as I can right now."

"I can't just hand you the key," Pitch said through his clinched teeth. "It's not as simple as that, boy."

"Why not?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow, quizzically.

"Because de Winter was no fool," Pitch replied. "The key is not a key in the normal sense. He had no intention of just letting anybody take his prized staff. Don't be an idiot, Jack, going there is suicide. Very few have ever escaped that fortress alive."

"Stop lollygagging! Just tell me where it is, Pitch," Jack threatened, sending out a small blast of ice.

"You're looking at it," Pitch bit out, making Jack jump slightly.

"What?" Jack asked, a little more than confused.

"I am the key, you idiot! The Permafrost is useless to me. Only spirits with an ice element can wield it and who would honestly expect the Nightmare King to be the key to the vault?" Pitch hissed with venom. Jack looked a little shell-shocked at the news. "I told you de Winter was no fool! I've had several before you come here looking for it. None of them ever once thinking that I was the key they were looking for."

Now this really did change things. If Pitch was telling him the truth then how was this going to work? He highly doubted Pitch was just going to jump on the bandwagon and come with him. This was certainly going to be a challenge. Maybe there could be some sort of trade off. But what could he use?

"What do want out of this?" Jack asked as Pitch smiled.

"Good question but there is nothing you can offer me," Pitch snorted. "The one thing I want I know you and the other Guardians would never allow."

"That's true," Jack sighed, pulling his staff away from Pitch. "Oh, man…"

"Abandon this quest of yours, Jack," Pitch said, trying to sit up. "Ow! And unstick me from the floor."

"Unstick yourself," Jack grumbled, turning on his heel. _What am I going to do know? I need the Permafrost._

"Why do you want the Permafrost to begin with?" Pitch asked, trying to pull the ice from his neck.

"None of your business," Jack snapped in response.

"I know there has to be good reason for it. What is it?" Pitch inquired again.

"I said none of your business," Jack almost yelled, turning around to face Pitch again. "Just drop it!"

"Oh-ho, there is more to this than first I thought," Pitch leered, still working on the ice around his neck. "You're going after the Permafrost out of necessity. Most want the Permafrost just for its sheer power."

Pitch strained to look up at Jack. Why would Jack need the Permafrost? What was the reason? Then a memory hit him and smile split his face. Of course! He had broken Jack's staff a few months earlier. Damage must have been done. So Jack wasn't as strong as he was letting on. Always the trickster and good one at that.

"I severely damaged your staff, didn't I?" Pitch chuckled. "And now you want to replace it with the Permafrost."

Jack didn't answer. He just turned and started to walk away. He didn't want to hear it. He'd find some way to get Pitch's help. He wasn't going to give up that easily. He was going to get his hands on the Permafrost one way or another.

"Don't you walk away, Jack," Pitch called out, finally breaking the ice and threw it at Jack.

Jack felt the ice hit him square in the back. He turned around to see Pitch getting back to his feet and dusting off his clothes a bit. Were they going to fight again? Jack gripped his staff hard waiting for Pitch to make his move.

"There are 5 levels before you hit the vault each becoming worst as you go deeper," Pitch stated, putting his hands behind his back and he walked towards Jack. "Inside the vault there are 2 more traps from what I was told by de Winter. I know not what these traps are but they are each designed to kill you, forever. Not even the Man in the Moon can help you if you should parish."

Jack realized that Pitch was concocting something most foul. He didn't really like where this was going. Pitch slowly started to walk Jack with an even, steady stride with a large smirk on his face. If he was going to attack him he was taking his sweet time in doing so.

"If you want to die so badly, fine, I'll give you my services," Pitch bowed, mockingly at Jack. "Just so you know I won't be raising a single hand to help you in this endeavor. As the key I cannot be damaged or affected by the traps so you don't have to worry about me."

"Why are you helping me?" Jack asked as Pitch stood up strait.

"I'm not. I told you I won't be lifting a hand to help. I'm just a tool to open a door. I am as neutral as they come," Pitch stated, dully. "You will be completely on your own and I get a front row seat in watching you get killed."

"You're in it just for the show," Jack grumbled as Pitch nodded slightly.

"Well, someone has to tell the Guardians what happened to their precious Jack Frost when he fails to get the Permafrost," Pitch chuckled, patting Jack on the shoulder but was not all pleased. "I will thoroughly enjoy this event."

"You sadistic son of a—"

"Yes, I am and quite proud of it!"

Jack was practically fuming at this. Pitch was just tagging along for a good show. He wanted Jack to get killed in fact he might even set him up to him get killed in one of the traps. He'd really have to watch his back with this guy.

"Okay, you won't help me but don't turn on me either," Jack bit out, pointing his staff at Pitch. "I can still turn you into a block of ice if I have to!"

"You're bluffing. You'll need whatever magic you have left in that staff of yours to get through those levels so I'd conserve what you have left," Pitch stated, pushing the old crook out of his face. "As it is I have a tunnel we can use that brings us to close to the Cho Oyu. This is as much help as I'll give you."

Pitch started to walk away towards some stairs that led down. Jack reluctantly followed the dark spirit. There was no telling if this was a trap or not. He'd have to keep his wits about him. All he could do for now was follow Pitch into the dark abyss and hope Pitch keeps his word.

00000000000000000000000 LEVEL 1 ENTERING CHO OYU 00000000000000000000000

A large flat piece of stone slid off a hole as Pitch stuck his head out and had a brief look around. The wind was blowing hard and whipping the snow and ice around his head. He climbed out first followed by Jack. Pitch replaced the stone before he pointed off in front of them.

"That is Cho Oyu; the 6th tallest mountain in the world. His fortress is at the summit on the northern side," Pitch yelled over the roaring wind.

"This is as close as you can get us?" Jack asked, pulling his hood up.

"Yes. Don't whine about it," Pitch snapped, pushing the winter spirit. "Can you fly us out of this storm or are you too weak for that?"

"Don't start! I'll get us there," Jack bit out, pushing Pitch back.

"Then do so and get us out of this wind," Pitch barked, covering his eyes as the wind picked up even more.

Jack jumped up and grabbed Pitch by the back of his black robe and off they went. Pitch let out a few worried screams at Jack's sporadic flying. Pitch did kept an eye out as Jack started to circle the summit. Where was it? It had to around here somewhere—

"There it is," Pitch called out, pointing down at an odd formation in the snow and rock. "It's right below us."

"I see it," Jack answered, taking a nose dive.

The landing was a bit rough but they made it onto a large landing. They stood up and had look around them. The fortress was just that a fortress. There was a large iron gate in front of them closed tightly covered in a thick layer of ice. There were no other openings in the rock-face so this was the only way in.

"You're on your own from here," Pitch said, folding his arms as Jack approached the gate. "I've completed my part."

"Yeah, yeah," Jack grumbled, puzzling over how to get the gate to lift up. _Okay… Now, how do I get this thing to open? Is there a lever or something?_

Jack started looking high and low for some mechanism to raise the gate. There had to be something that opened it. He knew Pitch wasn't going to help so he had to do this on his own. He found no device that he could use to open the gate. He let out a long sigh and stepped back. The wind started to pick up again as the storm started to move in.

"Give it up, Jack," Pitch said, pulling his arms closer to his body. "You're not getting in."

"Shut up! I'll get in there… Somehow…" Jack snapped, pulling his hood back up. "You want that show, don't you?"

"Of course, but I can't help you anymore," Pitch stated again.

"I know you can't. I know," Jack let out sigh as he heard the metal gate clank slightly.

It was only the wind on the gate. The wind was steadily getting stronger. Wait. He stepped up to the gate again. He tried lifting it but it wouldn't budge in fact it didn't even rattle when he hit it. Something wasn't adding up. The wind was passing right through the iron bars but somehow it was making the gate rattle. Father Winter was no fool is what Pitch had said. So if there was trick to it. Jack stood back from the gate and raised his staff. The gate reacted to the wind, somehow. It may not react to the natural wind of the mountain but it might react to wind controlled by magic.

"I've got it!" Jack exclaimed and Pitch turned to look at him.

Jack ran back from the gate a little bit and held up his staff. Pitch watched carefully as Jack called on the wind and funneled it at the gate. Sure enough it started to rattle and lift up. The ice cracked and fell apart as the gate steadily rose. So the boy had finally figured it out. Pitch ran into the large cave first and Jack made a mad dash in right after. The gate slammed down with a mighty crash, rattling the cave walls a bit, knocking off chunks of ice and rock. Well, they were now in.

The light was starting to fade as the storm moved in ever closer to the mountain. The cave looked dark and highly uninviting. The winds outside made the cave howl an eerie sort of cry as if the mountain itself was in pain.

"Don't tell me you're scared," Pitch leered, looking out of the corner of his eye at Jack. "You can always turn back right now."

"No. It's just the wind," Jack bit out, lighting up his staff with a blue light and started the trek downward into the cave. "Come on."

Pitch chuckled a little following Jack deeper into the dark abyss. Soon enough the howling of wind stopped and the only sound heard in the cave were their footsteps. Just how deep was this fortress? This place was even darker than Pitch's lair Jack noted. They did not exchange any words as they followed the narrow path farther down in the heart of the mountain. Just how long was this path and how long had they been walking? Honestly, if felt like they had be traveling in circles but that was impossible. There was just this one path.

Jack took a slight look over his shoulder to see Pitch grinning slightly in amusement. Jack turned back around, his frown deepening. He didn't like that. On a hunch Jack laid a small circle of ice on the ground with his staff. Pitch said that he was immune to the traps so who's to say they weren't in one now. They kept walking on and Jack kept a look out for his marker.

It took a good while but Jack spotted it. He stopped dead almost causing Pitch to run into him. He whipped around and glared at Pitch. Pitch only smiled, looking down at Jack's angry face.

"How did you figure it out?" Pitch asked, getting Jack's staff shoved his face. "Hey, now. I'm neutral, remember?"

"You knew we was just looping around this whole time," Jack growled, slamming his staff down.

"Oh, yes, I knew. But I was enjoying how frustrated you were becoming," Pitch grinned, leaning on the cave wall. "Now you know you're in a trap. How do you plan to get out of it?"

"Obviously, I can't go back. I'll most likely just start over again at the gate if I do that," Jack mused, plopping down on the ground. "I have yet to see a single opening, though. But there has to be one!"

Jack got back to his feet in a hurry and started feeling around for an opening on the walls. Maybe they were hidden passageways? Pitch watched in amusement as Jack struggled to find an opening in the walls but everywhere seemed solid. Jack began to wonder if this really was a good idea or not. He was stuck underground with Pitch, which was bad enough on its own. There had to be another trick to getting out of the looping passage way. He sat back down on the ground to catch his breath. Pitch just stood there, leaning on the wall, waiting for the Guardian's next move.

"Just let it go, Jack. You're not getting anywhere," Pitch said, pushing off the wall and sat down by Jack. "You'll just wonder this hall until you are nothing more than a memory."

"You know where the openings are but you're not going to tell me," Jack said and Pitch smiled in response. "You really are enjoying this."

"Oh, immensely," Pitch hummed.

The two grew silent as Jack took this time to think of what he should do. Everything had a catch to it. Like the gate being opened my magically charged wind and Pitch being the key to the vault. Nothing was every straight forward with this place. This trap was bad enough and he couldn't imagine what the others are going to be like especially the ones in the vault. Right now since they weren't moving he might a well conserve like Pitch had told him to do. He looked down at his glowing staff and let the light fade from it. It was very black in that tunnel.

"Aren't you scared that I'll run off or kill you myself?" Pitch's voice resonated beside him.

"Then what fun would that be for you?" Jack answered swiftly.

"That is true," Pitch breathed. "We haven't even gotten to the really fun parts yet."

Jack snorted and pulled his knees to his chest. Now what? He rested his chin on his knees and closed his eyes. They didn't say anything for a while as Jack pondered what he was going to do and how to get out of this trap. Several minutes passed as he slowly opened his eyes. For some reason the tunnel seemed a little brighter than it had or rather should. He knew his eyes had adjusted to the light but they were inside a mountain there should be no light whatsoever. So then where was this very faint light coming from? Maybe it was the way out?

Jack got back up to his feet and looked down the tunnel. Sure enough there was a light down there. A very faint but a real light. Pitch got up not long after and started to follow Jack down the tunnel again.

"You see it now, don't you?" Pitch said walking behind Jack.

"You can only see the opening in the dark but no sane person would travel into a cave without a light source," Jack stated, studying the doorway.

"Of course," Pitch said.

The cut blocks around the doorway were giving off the dim light but the entrance itself was black. So this led to trap number two. Jack was nervous about this. This trap was only designed to discourage and disorient but there was no telling what this next one was designed to do. He might as well proceed.

00000000000000000000000 LEVEL 2 OUT OF YOUR ELEMENT 0000000000000000000000

He stepped in and instantly found himself in a chamber of some sort. Pitch was still right behind him. Jack noticed that the room unnaturally warm. It was downright hot in fact. The chamber wasn't anything fancy but it was very long and very wide. The ceiling was supported by many large columns that just seemed to stretch upwards into nothing ness.

"Wow. It's a little warm in here, isn't it?" Pitch said, pulling at the collar of his robe. "It's the Sahara at the height of summer."

"Rub it in a little more," Jack grumbled, rolling up his coat sleeves.

They walked down the few steps before actually making it down into the main chamber. The door was clearly on the other side but there was no way it was going to be this easy. Jack noticed that the deeper they got the hotter the temperature became. Not only that there was absolutely no moisture in the air either. This wasn't good for him. His core power was ice and without cold or any water in the air this did nothing for his wellbeing.

"Are you feeling all right?" Pitch asked, noticing that Jack was slowing down. "It's not too warm in here for you, is it?"

Jack didn't answer but instead picked up his pace. Technically, yes, this was far past his normal limits but he wasn't going to give Pitch that satisfaction. Jack was keeping his eyes open for anything that might be lurking among the sea of columns. He had that odd sensation of being watched and it wasn't from Pitch. It wasn't long before Jack stopped and took off his coat and tied around his waist leaving only a thin sleeveless shirt on. The floor was even starting to burn his feet. He let out yelp and jumped back knocking into Pitch.

"Watch it," Pitch snapped.

"The floor's like fire," Jack exclaimed, looking down as his bright red feet.

"It's not my fault you don't wear shoes," Pitch snorted.

**HHHHIIIIISSSSSSSSS….**

"What was that?" Jack asked, turning to look at his left.

"Don't know," Pitch answered, hearing movement all around them. "But we're not alone in here."

"Great," Jack said, raising his staff. "Okay, who or whatever you are show yourselves!"

The movement only seemed to intensify at Jack's orders and the temperature suddenly skyrocketed. Pitch noticed that it was getting harder for Jack to breath in this dry heat. So now the real show was about to start. Grant it was it ungodly hot in chamber even to him but he could only imagine what Jack was feeling right now. A smile split his face, watching Jack struggle.

"Don't melt on me," Pitch leered as Jack tossed him a nasty glare. "There are only 5 traps left after all."

"Shut up," Jack grumbled.

A moment later something rather large and glowing red moved towards them. What was that thing? It looked like its skin was molten lava. It was soon joined by others. They were four stubby legs with long bodies and tails and big yellow eyes. They had a reptilian built boy but that's not what they were.

"Fire Salamanders," Pitch mused, looking rather intrigued. "And a lot of them from the looks of it."

Jack looked horrified. There were 10 or more of these things. The heat coming off them was tremendous and they were blocking the path to the other side of the chamber. He raised his staff and went to use his power and noticed he couldn't do anything.

"You're out of your element, boy," Pitch stated as started to walk off through the salamanders toward the door. "I'd like a better seat as things are going to messy. I'll be waiting by the door should you make it there alive."

"Pitch! Wait," Jack called out but the salamanders quickly closed the path that Pitch made. "Damn it!"

Jack was practically panting at this point and he hadn't even done anything yet. This heat was robbing him of everything. He really was out of his element in his place. The heat was getting to him and there was no water in the air to use. This was not going to be good. If he couldn't use his ice powers but maybe he could still fly. There was more than enough air in this room to use the Wind but it was hot dry air. This was not going to be easy to do. The floor was getting so hot now. He had to try.

Jack quickly called up the wind in the room as it circled around and lifted him up off the scorching ground. But it felt like the air was being pulled out his lungs. He just had to endure it to make it to that other doorway. He noticed that the salamanders were now climbing the columns to get to him and one of them threw its head back then spit a ball of fire at him. Jack dodged but in his weakened state he started to fall the ground.

He landed hard and he let out scream as the hot floor touched his back and shoulders. He quickly rolled over and got back to his already burnt feet. He started running as the salamanders quickly started to gather around him again. Some of them were ready to spit out more fire balls. There were more that just appeared out of thin air. Jack realized he couldn't out run them so he opted to fly again. Soon he was off the ground again but the heat was making it hard to concentrate in avoiding the fire balls. One of the salamanders even jump off a column hoping to take a good bit out of Jack but just missed.

Pitch had just finished climbing the stairs and turned to see the salamander jump at poor Jack. If he honestly made it through this level there was little hope of him making it through the next one being in such poor condition. Pitch watched as Jack tried to make his way to where he was. Jack couldn't fight so his only option was to run. He was little more than 3/4 of the way through now.

Jack honestly couldn't take much more of this. But the door wasn't that far now but he was feeling faint. He dodged a couple more fire balls that just barely missed him. He just needed to get to that door. Suddenly he dropped.

Pitch watched with a smirk as Jack suddenly plummeted to the ground. Oh, dear, the poor thing must have fainted. Oh, well. Soon there will be no more Jack. Pitch couldn't wait to give the other Guardians the good news. Oh, well, the boy did try. He had to give the boy kudos for that.

Jack hit the ground barely awake but he'd be damn if he quit now. The salamanders were almost on top of him. Just once more. He was going to try flying once more to get out this fire pit. He summoned what little power he had left. He couldn't get much height but at least he was moving again. He swerved back and forth between the creatures as fast as he could, trying to avoid the fire balls and being bitten.

Pitch suddenly noticed that the winter spirit wasn't down just yet. He was still fighting his way across the chamber. Pitch watched as Jack finally made it through the crowd of salamanders. He landed on the steps and started up them as fast as he could. The salamanders were right on his tail. Well, now, this was getting good.

"Hurry, Jack! Once you're through the door you're safe," Pitch called down to him.

Jack was losing his momentum but the salamander weren't losing theirs. Just a few more steps and he'd be on the landing leading to the door. He struggled up the last steps to the landing. Pitch was already at the door. Jack used the wind just enough to propel through those last few feet. He slid through the doorway rolling a bit before he came to a stop on the hard ground.

Pitch walked over the unconscious Jack and looked down the younger spirit. He was still alive but badly injured. Cuts and burns covered his body. The boy was in no condition to continue this quest of his. Poor Jack will never get his hands on the Permafrost. In fact Jack's current staff didn't look so good either. The old dry wood charred some in that skirmish.

Pitch sat the boy up against the wall and waited for him to wake up. He warned the boy this was a suicide mission. There was no way Jack was going to make it through this. Aleister de Winter really had no intentions of letting anyone get the Permafrost. It was far cooler in here compared to that room so it was up to Jack to see how things went.

000000000000000000000000 LEVEL 3 THE SNOW MAIDEN 00000000000000000000000

Jack slowly opened his painfully dry eyes. The first thing he saw was Pitch sitting opposite of him against the other wall. He wasn't dead, which was good but he was certainly charbroiled. Every bit of exposed skin was burnt and blistered. He let out a hiss of pain as he moved.

"Oh, so you're awake now?" Pitch asked, lifting his head up to look a Jack. "Are you ready to end this death-wish quest of yours?"

"Why? Because I look like a roasted marshmallow?" Jack painfully joked.

"Actually you do," Pitch hummed, nodding his head a bit. "You can't possibly be thinking about going on with this."

"This is level 3, right?" Jack said, trying to stand. "OWWW!"

"You've got massive burns over your body and you're badly dehydrated," Pitch said, getting to his feet and walked over to Jack. "You are in no condition to continue."

"Will you stop saying that," Jack bit out, using the stone wall for support. "I'm going to continue one way or another."

"Then you really are a fool," Pitch snapped, handing Jack his staff. "Fine, get yourself killed. No skin off my nose if you do."

With the help of his staff and the cave wall Jack continued on with Pitch beside him. They interred another chamber but it was odd scene. It looked as though they were outside but when they looked up there was no sky. No top of that there were evergreen trees growing here and everything was covered in snow. Jack decided to take this as a bit of a blessing but there was no telling what was in this chamber. The snow felt good on his burns but if it wasn't for the fact he had to keep moving he'd stay in that spot and let the snow heal him.

The two carried on through the maze of evergreen trees. They had no idea where the other door was but they keep moving. Pitch was immune to everything but Jack wasn't and he was really starting to resent Pitch more than ever before. Jack stopped every now and then resting against a tree. He was exhausted now and he wasn't even through level 3 yet. Those salamanders really took everything out of him.

They continued on for a while more when Jack could have sworn he heard a voice; a woman's voice in fact. Pitch didn't seem to react to the far off sound. Jack shook it off and kept moving but the voice returned a little louder and it sounded as though it was singing. This had to be another trap. Jack went on the alert as the singing became louder. He turned to Pitch but the Nightmare King was not there. Great! Did Pitch abandon him yet again?

"Pitch! Pitch, where are you?" Jack called out but got no response. "Oh, c'mon! Pitch!"

Jack suddenly felt hands on his burnt shoulders that slowly slid down his sides to his waste. He turned around and found no one there. The hands were soft and gentle. That was really weird. Pitch was nowhere to be seen and there was no one else either. Well, as far he knew anyway. So where did those mystery hands come from?

He continued on again, looking for any way out of this indoor forest. The snow was doing wonders for his burnt feet. He paused again trying to grip on his surroundings. Every tree looked the exacts same. No tree was taller than the other and they were all the same width. They were carbon copies of each other. It made it very disorienting. Only way to find the door was to get up and over them. He looked at his staff. It really had really seen better days.

He then felt the hands again on shoulders. Once again they slid down his thin white, charred shirt only this time arms wrapped around him in a hug and he felt the wait of body on him. That was definitely a woman. Okay, this was awkward. He felt a little flushed and she leaned in on him a little more.

He turned and saw woman with pale skin even paler than his own. Her long hair was as solid black, her features were very delicate, and her lips were an odd shade of blue. This was really, really awkward. He pulled away and faced her. She was wearing a shimmering white kimono and it was pulled in tightly at the waste, giving her a good figure and the top of her kimono was barely holding in her assets.

"Oh, hello," Jack said, awkwardly as she walked up to him again in a rather flirting manner. "Wow, um…"

"I don't get too many visitors," she said sweetly, reaching out putting a delicate hand on his chest. "Especially ones that are as handsome as you."

"Okay…" Jack said, gently removing her hand. "Um, thank you, but I really need to keep—"

She then pressed her ample chest against his, pinning him to a tree. This was getting more than awkward. She starting running her hands through his silvery white hair and then down his neck to his shoulders again. He gently pushed her back and scooted away from the tree. He mind was saying one thing but his body was starting to say other. He gave her a funny grin and started to walk away from her.

"Maybe some other time," Jack said, only to feel her hands run up under his torn shirt. "Whoa! Oh!"

He turned around again as she gave him a bit of a naughty grin. This was one game he didn't need to be playing right now. Though the temptation was indeed there and she was trying very hard get it out of him.

"Look, I really don't need this," he said as she slid the kimono off her smooth shoulders. "And you're, uh… Wow. Um, yeah."

She pressed up against him and wrapped her arms around him again, tightly. This wasn't such a good idea. He knew this was one of the traps but this was rather unexpected. And he didn't want to admit it but he was actually enjoying it. Then she got up on her tiptoes and started humming in his ear. It was that same voice from earlier and it was just as sweet if not sweeter. He started to feel strange as she kept humming in his ear. He knees slowly started to collapse on him as they both fell softly to the snowy ground. She kept humming as she started tear away at his tattered shirt. He rolled over on his back as she pulled off the last of the fabric.

Everything was very wrong with this. He knew what he was doing but it was like he wasn't in control of motions. He realized he was pulling the rest of the kimono off her top as she leaned forward kissing his neck. It felt so good as she kept kissing him and pressing her bare chest into his. She then sat up and started to undo the obi on her kimono. He couldn't take his blue eyes off her as she removed the obi and fully open her kimono. He knew this was a trap but he couldn't not react or stop this. What was she planning? Well, he knew one thing, that was very obvious, but it had to go deeper than that.

"It's been a long while since I last touched man. I must say I got lucky with someone as good looking as yourself," she cooed, running a slender hand down his stomach as Jack tensed. "Oh, now, don't tense. I've been told I'm very good at what I do."

Yeah, this wasn't going to end well. He needed to get out of this but he slightly wanted to know how far this was going to go. She started humming once more as she started to undo his pants. She was going to go that far. Oh, wow. No! No, he needed to stop this. This wasn't right. He needed to stop her before she goes too far with this.

"St-stop…" he choked out as she smiled and put a finger on his lips.

"Shhhh, my prince," she smiled, leaning on him again and put her face in his. "I can give you all the pleasure you'll ever want or need."

"N-no…" he struggled to get that one word out.

"Oh, now, just give me a chance," she said, kissing his again before moving her kisses to his mouth. "Don't fight me, my love. Let me take you to a place you've only dreamt about."

She had every intention to continue as she started humming again. It was that song of hers. Whenever he'd start to fight back she'd start singing it again. It had an odd power over him. He needed to get away from her. But what could he do? He needed to stop her from singing. Then a thought struck him. He slowly started to lift his hands toward his large assets. She obviously wanted him to touch them and as much as he wanted to he wasn't going for those. With one quick motion he hit her in the throat. Not too hard but enough to really a message across.

She fell off him gasping for air and clearly in pain. This was his only chance to get up but that song had a bit of a lasting effect on him. He managed to roll over as he tried to crawl away from her he felt her slam a foot on his back and grab a fistful of his hair and yanking his head up.

"How dare you strike a woman," she bit out hoarsely, glaring down at him. Her dark eyes turning completely black. "And in the throat no less!"

"You're no woman," Jack stressed, glaring up at her.

"How dare you," She then slammed his head into the ground before physically picking him and slamming him hard on back. "You want to end it that's just fine with me. I just like to sweeten my meals before I eat them."

_Eat them? What?_ Jack thought as she got on top of him again. "Get off me!"

"Now hold still, my prince," she said, bitterly. "I'll try to make this as painful as possible."

Jack saw that his staff was just out of his grasp. If only he could grab it and knock her back one good. She leaned in on him again and kissed him on the lips again. He started to feel all the energy in him slowly start to leave him. She was draining him and she was indeed making him hurt like hell. He just needed his staff but it was about only an inch out from his fingertips.

"Oh, wow, you are good one," she said, sitting up for a bit of a breather. "You really are delicious even without all the sugar."

"Yeah, well eat this," Jack snapped, finally reaching his staff now that she wasn't pressing down at him.

He sent a blast of ice at her knocking her back a good ways. He used his staff for support as he shakily got back to his feet. He needed to get out here. She drained him pretty damn good just now. She sat back up and saw him start to hobble away. Anger flooded her as the winds around her started to pick up. Snow and tree branches started to assault Jack viciously. He turned to face her as she floated high in the air with his arms spread wide. Okay, so now they were going fight.

"You will regret doing this to me," she howled at him as her fingers turned to long blade of ice.

She flung her arms as him firing off the blades. Jack dodged them and sent up another blast of ice at her as she flew out of the way before coming down at Jack. Jack blocked her with his staff but his lack of energy was starting to show as he could barely keep up her back.

She fired her icy blades at him again. Two of them dug into his right shoulder. He let out scream of pain as she laughed. He pulled them out as she took to the air again. He wasn't going to let her. He quickly took off into the air after her. Apparently she was not expecting that move. She quickly flew off with Jack right behind her. She then circled around and tried to strike him again with her ice claws. Jack kicked her back as they tussled around in a mid-air battle.

Pitch watched from the far safety of a treetop close the door. He had to admit he was enjoying this and it wasn't just for the fact Jack looked like he was getting his ass handed to him. No, the yuki-onna with wide open kimono was a bit of an added bonus. Now if only he had a set of binoculars.

This was getting to be ridiculous. Jack was having a hard time keeping up with her movements. He wasn't really one to hurt woman but he might just have to get to away from her and get out there. He'd have to play a little dirty. Jack quickly circled around her and hooked her neck in the crook of his staff. He raced towards the ground and slammed her hard into the ground. She let out a ear-piercing scream of pain. Jack unhooked her before holding up his staff to her ready to hit her with the same attack he usually reserved for Pitch.

"Who are you?" she choked out, with her eyes half open.

"My name is Jack Frost," he bit out at her. "I am a Guardian and it would be wise if you just stayed where you are and let me pass."

"A Guardian? One of MiM's best and brightest?" she asked, raising a black eyebrow.

"I am. My title is the Guardian of Fun," Jack said, removing his staff from her face. "Now, just stay where you are."

Jack slowly stepped back from her. She painfully rolled over as Jack took off into the air. He finally saw the exit and Pitch sitting in a treetop. So he did make it over there. Jack quickly flew over to him and hovered a bit in the air.

"That I thoroughly enjoyed," Pitch grinned as Jack just shook his head and dove down toward the door.

Pitch jumped down and quickly met up with Jack. The two walked out through the door and looked around. This looked like a pretty good area to take a break. Jack studied his bloodied shoulder. There wounds were wide but not deep. Jack sat down on the ground and took notice that his pants were still undone. He sheepishly fastened them back as Pitch chuckled.

"Did you have fun, dear Jack?" Pitch questioned but Jack found no humor in it. "I see you managed to lose your shirt and your hoodie."

"That's all I lost," Jack bit out and then mentally hit himself.

"Oh, so you have never done it before?" Pitch smirked. "Well, you sort of missed your chance."

"She was trying to eat me," Jack replied sharply. "And not in that way."

"Oh, well, suit yourself," Pitch said, waving the boy off. "Your loss."

"I wasn't about to do 'death by snu-snu,'" Jack grumbled as Pitch looked at him funny.

"I don't get that reference," Pitch answered.

"Don't worry about it," Jack said, resting a bit.

"Tired are we?" Pitch asked as Jack tried to get comfortable.

"Yes. Now if you don't mind leave me alone for a little while," Jack said, closing his eyes.

Jack needed to gather his energy back. Grant it being in that snow did wander for his burns but this one really messed with him more so than the salamanders. He just needed to a good long rest. This was the safest point right now. He was just about asleep when he felt a light gust of when hit him.

"Hey," a woman's voice shouted at him.

Jack lifted his head only to be slammed in the face with his hoodie. He pulled it off to see the snow woman now fully clothed again standing just on the other side of door. What did she want? He was very much tired of her.

"Guardian Frost," she bit out, pointing at him. "If you somehow manage to get the Permafrost get me out of this hell hole."

"Why should I?" Jack asked, slipping his messed up hoodie back on.

"I was trapped in here by Aleister nearly 400 years ago. Look," She put her hand towards the door only to have it rejected by a barrier. "I can't leave this place! The only thing that can remove the barrier is the Permafrost! Please, you've got to get me out of here."

"I'll think on it," Jack moaned.

"Oh, men! You're all alike," she huffed, taking off back into the forest.

"Hey, I actually think she likes you," Pitch said, hooking a thumb back toward the door.

"Well, the feeling is not mutual," Jack said, trying to get comfortable again.

"I know, after all you have a soft spot for the Tooth Fairy," Pitch said, walking over to Jack. "Admit it, Jack. I mean even I could tell she has a thing for you as well."

Jack pulled up his hood and turned the other way. Pitch got the clue that Jack didn't want to be bothered anymore. That was fine with him. He just sat down across from him and let out a small yawn. They both might as well get some sleep. There were still 4 more levels to complete and Pitch didn't want to miss a moment.

0000000000000000000000000 LEVEL 4 MIRROR MIRROR 00000000000000000000000000

Jack woke up rather painfully. He opened his eyes and sat up, trying to remember where he was. Pitch looked like he was still asleep. How long was he asleep anyway? He rubbed his sore neck and let out a sigh. He got his energy back but the burns were still there, not to mention those nasty gashes. They were better but not great. He got to his feet, grabbing his staff. He tapped Pitch's foot to awake him. Pitch snorted slightly, before slowly turning up to look at Jack.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head," Jack said, standing over him.

"I may rise but I don't shine," Pitch groaned, getting up and stretching his arms and back. "Great. I've got in knot in my back."

"Don't even start to complain," Jack snorted, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You ready?"

"I am not a morning person so not really," Pitch stated, but started down the tunnel with Jack. "I hope you've got your energy back, because I have a feeling you're going to need it."

"My energy is fine," Jack said, picking up his pace.

"Your body not so much. I see you still have a bit of a limp," Pitch pointed out.

"I'll be fine, thank you, your concern is not needed," Jack replied a bit bitterly.

"I don't believe I was giving any away," Pitch said, keeping his pace with Jack just they entered the next level. "Well, that is weird."

Before them was a narrow stone walkway that dropped into nothingness on either side but led to a large white/silver wall with only one entrance. Oh, this didn't look ominous at all. The thin stretch was just big enough for one person to pass at time. Jack took careful step out and began making with way across. Pitch wasn't far behind him.

Jack continued until he was in the door and Pitch slide in after him. Both of their mouths dropped open. There were large sheets of crystal as far as the can see that was reflecting the light from and unknown source. It look beautiful but that was only part of the trap's charm.

"Wooow," Jack drawled, moving in closer to look at his many reflections. "Wait, I think I've seen something like this before. It's a mirror maze. I've seen them at carnivals and fairs!"

"Yes, well, this is no game at a state fair," Pitch reminded the boy, walking up noticing something odd. "I guess my immunity prevents me from casting a reflection."

Jack looked over and Pitch was right. The Nightmare King made no reflection in the mirrors. He wanted to make a vampire joke but this might not be the place for that. That also worried him. Just what do these mirrors do? The only way he was going to find out was by walking into the maze. He was very reluctant to do so.

"Well, Jack, you've come this far so don't tell me that you've started to have second thoughts," Pitch grinned, ruffling Jack's hair with his hand as he walked by. _Turn back, you idiot. Just turn back now!_

"I'm going through with this so just stop it, Pitch," Jack said, fixing his hair back. "This is the fourth level and I'm not backing down."

"As stubborn as always, I see. Very well, get yourself killed," Pitch shrugged. "After you."

Jack put out his staff and used it feel where the opening to the maze was. He found it off to the right. He walked in still closely followed by Pitch. This might be a good place to knock off the boy. So far by willpower and sheer dumb luck Jack had made it through. Pitch noticed when he put a hand through the sheets of crystal mirrors he passed right through them. He really would have the advantage over the boy here. He cast no reflection and he could pass through the mirrors. He'd act when Jack was at his most critical moment in the trap.

Nothing much seemed to be happened other than that Jack kept running into the mirrors. Pitch laughed every time Jack walked into them. Jack of course found no humor in that. Suddenly like back in the last levels Pitch just left him. All alone. Why did the jerk have to keep doing that to him?

"Oh, c'mon, not again," Jack groaned, spinning around finding no sign of Pitch. "That's really annoying how you keep leaving me alone like this!"

_Oh, but, Jack, you're not alone. I'm going to be watching every move you make,_ Pitch leered, watching Jack from the other side of the crystal.

Jack continued to delve deeper into the maze of mirrors. Slowly and painful but he carried on. Just how deep was this maze? He felt like he had been going on for an awfully long time. There hadn't been any sense of time ever since he entered the mountain. He paused briefly when he came a bit to a crossroad. Which path to take? Right or left? He held his staff up on its end and let it drop. The staff fell to the left. So the left corridor it was.

Jack picked up his crook and turned left. The corridor had not twists or turns. Maybe this was the end of the maze. That wasn't so hard. It was easier than the first trap. However, when he came to the end of corridor he was greeted by a mirrored chamber. So it was a dead end? No good. He went to turn around when something caught his eye. One of the mirrors were flashing. Okay this was new. He cautiously tuned to face only the inside of North's workshop. Okay that was odd. He took another step closer and he was suddenly standing in the workshop. Okay, then.

"Um, hello? North? Phil?" Jack called out only getting an echo as a response. _This doesn't feel right…_

Jack kept looking around but there was not a single yeti or elf to be had. This wasn't good. He knew someone had to be there but he found no one. He bit his lip in worry. He then heard something move behind. What it an elf? It jingled like one. He followed the sound to small corner. He pulled back a box and found an elf hunkered down.

"Hey, now, I'm not going to hurt you," he said, reaching down to pick the elf up only to have the elf bite his hand. "EEEYOOWWW!"

Jack jumped back in surprise, shaking his hand but the elf wasn't letting go. The elf was clamped on hard. Suddenly there was the thundering sound of charging footsteps. Jack whipped around to see a charging stampede of yetis coming at him. It looked like Phil was leading the charge. This wasn't right. Jack took off with the yetis right on his heels. What was going on?

Jack quickly ducked down a side corridor only to run into someone. Bunny? Jack looked up at 6 foot plus rabbit. There was an angry look in his green eyes that Jack didn't understand. Did he do something wrong? Suddenly Bunny raised his hand and back handed Jack across his face. Jack hit for the floor hard sliding a before yetis bend down a picked him. His staff was taken from him and he was tied up.

"Let go of me!" Jack yelled, struggling against the yetis and his binds. "What did I do? I don't understand! STOP!"

Jack was ignored as he carried to large room that looked like it was set up for court. This was getting weirder by the second. Jack was slammed down onto a small wooden stool. The winter spirit was completely confused. What had he done wrong? Everything was just happening so fast he had no idea what was going on. He looked up before him and saw North, Sandy, Bunny, Tooth sitting before him as judges. This was getting to be too much.

"What is all this about?" Jack asked, trying to wriggle out of his binds. "Will someone answer me! Please!"

"Don't play innocent, Jack," Tooth snapped her feathers all ruffed.

"I'm not! I really have no idea what going on," Jack answered back.

"Well, frostbite, let me clear a few thin' up for ya," Bunny said, looking down at Jack with his eye narrowed. "Ya teamed up with Pitch! Is that ringin' any bells for ya?"

"Teamed up with Pitch? I don't under—"

"You first say you wanted to be Gaurdian like us," North said, gesturing to the others. "You take oath everything is fine. Then you backstab us. You join up with Pitch not long after. You are back on naughty list. Permanently!"

"That's not true! I'm not with him! Why would I do that?" Jack pleaded. "When I took the oath I meant it!"

"That's just another one of yer tricks," Bunny said, shaking a fuzzy finger at him. "Stop this lyin' of yers! Yer not getting' out of this, no way, no how."

"I'm not lying! I'm telling the truth," Jack bit out starting to get angry. "I would never work with—"

"Just stop it, Jack, just stop," Tooth yelled at him, she looked hurt. "You betrayed the oath and you betrayed us! You allied yourself with that—that—that monster just so you can get your hands on the Permafrost!"

"But I don't even have it," Jack snapped at them.

"Quit with tall tales. You do to have Permafrost," North said, crossing his large arms.

"I don't even know what it looks like, for crying out loud," Jack groaned in frustration. "None of this is making any sense to me!"

"Why must you keep lying?" Tooth yelled at him. "We all trusted you! You're not the same person! I can't believe I ever loved you!"

Jack turned to look at Sandy. The small golden man had a little angry squiggle over his head. This wasn't making any sense. What all this about? Jack knew he would never, not even once, team with that bastard. On top of that he's never even seen the Permafrost. How can he have something he's never even seen?

"This is not making any sense whatsoever and I am being very honest," Jack retorted, getting up to his feet. "I am not teamed up with Pitch and I do not have the Permafrost!"

"You sit back down," North yelled, pointing a finger at Jack.

"I will not," Jack yelled back only to nearly get hit by a boomerang.

"I believe he said sit down," Bunny practically growled.

"You're only digging yourself into a deeper hole," Tooth snapped. "Just sit back down as we ordered!"

Jack shook his head and clinched his jaw. This was a very unfair trial. Hell he wouldn't even call this a real trial. This was like a step just before execution. He knew he was right so why were they doing this? Why did they have no trust in him? He would never side with Pitch or abuse his powers in such a malicious way.

"No, I will not! Why won't any of you believe what I'm saying?" Jack growled, looking at all four of them.

"Because who would ever want to believe in you, Jack Frost?" Bunny growled, pointing a boomerang at Jack.

Suddenly everything changed everything around him was dark and covered in ice. The wind was blowing furiously around him. Jack looked over his shoulder and spotted one lone crystal mirror in the darkness. He could see himself in it but something was wrong. He turned face it full and took a couple steps closer. Everything tightened inside him. That wasn't him. That couldn't possibly be him.

In the mirror's reflection was indeed Jack but it was wrong. His skin was ashy looking, his clothes were dark, and hair was longer and pulled back. There was also an evil grin of his face. Jack shook his while his reflection nodded.

"No, no! I don't believe—NOOO!" Jack looked down at his hands and clothes and were like what was reflected in the mirror. "This isn't me! No! I'm not like this! No! No! No!"

Suddenly the mirror shattered and the area around him lightened a bit. He quickly realized he was standing in a city; a very familiar city. It was Burgess, well what was left it anyway. Jack took in the space around him. Everything was dead and destroyed. All that was there was darkness and ice. None of this was right. None of it. He felt sick to his stomach in a way he never thought he would feel.

Then, in a flash, the Guardians were on top of him. They were armed and ready to fight in the rubble of this fallen city. They surrounded him ready to attack at any given moment. Jack's heart raced up to his throat. They really mean to do him harm. Jack gripped his wood staff as they closed in.

His wooden staff? Wasn't he supposed to have the Permafrost? This was defiantly his old trusted crook. This wasn't right. This wasn't really happening was it? No, it couldn't be nothing was fitting together. This was all an illusion. This was his worst fear playing out before him. This wasn't him. The only thing keeping him in some reality was his staff. He had no idea what the Perfrost look like so the illusion couldn't be produce it. None of this was real.

"None of this is real! None of this is real! None of this is real," Jack chanted, gripping his staff hard and slammed his eyes shut. "I DON'T BELIEVE IN ANY OF THIS!"

At a breaking point Jack released a blast of energy out around him. He collapsed to the ground gasping. He was back in the mirror chamber and he was still reeling from what just conspired. He didn't know where was. He was breathing heavily and he had a look of sheer terror was on his face. Honestly, Jack was in state of shock and his mind was still going through everything that happened.

Finally it looked like Jack was at the critical moment. Pitch materialized his black sand scythe as he watch Jack struggle to mentally sort out what had happened to him. This was the perfect opportunity that Pitch could not afford to pass up. He approached Jack from behind the mirrors with large toothy grin on his dark face. Oh, the poor dear looked so terrified. He was so going to enjoy this.

_I might as well put the poor boy out of his misery,_ Pitch mused, raising the scythe up over his head. _This is the end for you, Jack Frost!_

(A/N Oh, no! I am such an asshole, right? Admit if you had the power to reach through the internet and strangle me you would. Oh, dear how is this going to end, I wonder? I do so love cliffhangers! Well, when I give them to other people of course. I'll be putting the other chapter out soon. I'm hoping to get it out of the way so I can get to my other stories.)

Millie M. Banshee


	2. Chapter 2

Permafrost

Two Shot

(A/N Well, not as big of a turn out as I thought this would be.)

**SOUNDS/sounds**

_Thoughts_

_**MiM talking**_

000000000000000000000000 LEVEL 4 MIRROR MIRROR 00000000000000000000000000

Finally it looked like Jack was at that critical moment. Pitch materialized his black sand scythe as he watched Jack struggle to mentally sort out what had happened to him. This was the perfect opportunity that Pitch could not afford to pass up. He approached Jack from behind the mirrors with a large toothy grin on his dark face. Oh, the poor dear looked so terrified. He was so going to enjoy this.

_I might as well put the poor boy out of his misery,_ Pitch mused, raising the scythe up over his head. _This is the end for you, Jack Frost!_

Pitch swung but fell short of his target. The black blade hovered over Jack's head, wavering slightly. Pitch gritted his teeth as he looked down the oblivious winter spirit. It would be so easy to just slice the boy's head open like a melon, so why couldn't he? Nothing was physically holding him at back from cutting into Jack's skull. Pitch gripped the scythe's handle hard in frustration.

He could do this. He raised the large scythe again, glaring at Jack. It would only take one quick motion and Jack Frost, the Guardian of Fun, would be no more. He went to swing but quickly hesitated. This was stupid. He went to try for a third time but stopped himself yet again. How hard could it be to kill this nuisance? Jack Frost was nothing more than a pest. Grant it the boy didn't deliver the final blow, Sandy did that, but Jack made those brats believe in the Guardians. That was grounds enough to kill him. So what was stopping him?

_Dammit, Jack, why now? _Pitch growled mentally, letting the scythe hang at his side. _I'm this close to killing you and yet… Ugh… Just, dammit! I can't believe I'm doing this!_

In all honesty, Pitch really disliked Jack. He really truly did but he wanted to see just how far Jack was going to get on his own. It was iffy if Jack would even make to the vault looking at the boy's current state. He glanced down at his scythe and shook his head. The large black scythe crumbled to nothing. He was that close but he couldn't do it. He was actually starting to root for this brat. What if Jack did make it to the vault? What then? No one has ever made it past that point because no one ever could without him.

"Tch. Lucky," Pitch chided in a low whisper.

He let out a heavy sigh and disappeared into the mirrors. He'd give the boy a chance. But what if he did make all the way through and get the Permafrost? That would really sully a lot a future plans. With the Permafrost in Jack's hands there was no chance of Pitch ever being on top again. He hit himself in the head. What on earth was he actually thinking? Okay, that brat really did have to die. He materialized the scythe again and moved in. He was going to do it this time for sure. There was going to be no underdog story. There was no way he was going to let Jack come out on top. He raised the scythe up, right over his head. He had a clear shot like he did before from just being the sheets of crystal. This was going to be a piece of cake.

But just before Pitch was about to bring down his scythe Jack let out another large blast of energy. There was a loud crack followed by the chamber shattering. That was not expected. The crystal mirrors took the brunt of the blast, which Pitch was thankful for. He stood there in shock and Jack slowly sat up straight, still gasping for air. What the devil was that? It wasn't until Jack started to get to his feet did Pitch realize he was still holding his scythe up ready to kill the boy.

He quickly tucked it behind his back as if to hide but realized he couldn't really hide it. He quickly let it fall back to sand just as Jack turned around face him, with his head down. Pitch had a sheepish grin on his face as he looked at Jack. Hopefully, Jack was none the wiser. Well, that's what Pitch was hoping for anyway. Pitch swallowed a small knot in his throat.

"Wow… What a mess," Pitch said, looking around at the crystal that littered ground. "Uh, are you all right? Jack?"

The boy slowly lifted his head to look at him. He looked angry, really angry. He also looked like he was on the verge of tears as well. Pitch really didn't know what happened but he had a feeling it was a head-game of some sort. That was something that he was all too familiar with. Jack looked like he wanted to yell something at him but he clinched his teeth and turned sharply on his heel. He then stormed back down the corridor, leaving Pitch a little befuddled as to what just happened. He might want to keep his distance for a while.

Jack was pissed to put it bluntly and he was confused and hurt emotionally. The last person he wanted to be near right now was Pitch. He might end up hurting the guy for something he didn't even do. That illusion/hallucination whatever it was hurt worst of all. He would rather face the salamanders again than be confronted with something like that again. And he just might, seeing as how he was still lost in the bowels of the maze. He came back finally to the fork and went down the only remaining corridor. There had to be another trap in this horrible maze. It twisted and turned like the other corridors had before. He'd run into mirror once and a while. But he noticed something was up when he was seeing other things in the maze with him. Was he alone? Was it Pitch?

He stopped briefly to see if he could get a fix on it. He saw nothing but his many reflections. He sighed in frustration and started navigating the maze again. He then spotted it was Jamie? What was Jamie doing here? No, it was a trick. He looked in another direction at saw Cupcake. This wasn't going to be good. Soon he was surrounded by all the children he had befriended in Burgess. He felt his heart start to race again. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He needed to move now before something happened but the moment he took a step forward the images showed all of the children dead and covered head to foot in blood and ice. Black sand swirled in the background along with snowflakes.

"STOP IT!" Jack yelled, clutching his head. "None of this is real! It's not! Don't show me this!"

He started running again only succeeding in hitting more mirrors than passageways in his panic. The images just kept following him no matter what turn he took. He finally turned down another corridor and all the children vanished. Was it over? He was shaking badly and he was bleeding from his head, nose, and mouth a bit. He looked started to look around to see if that was end. It wasn't. His blue eyes finally fell on a young girl with brown hair and brown eyes. His heart seemed to just stop and drop into the pit of stomach.

"Oh, no…" he whispered, looking at the image of his sister before him. "Not you… No…"

"Why?" the girl asked, her eyes filling with tears. "Why did you leave me, Jack? Why?"

"You're not there," he barely breathed, slowly shaking his head.

"You were my big brother nothing bad was ever supposed to happen to you," she cried. "Why didn't you come back home?"

"I couldn't! When I-I fell through the ice I—" Jack tried to explain.

"You were always lying and playing tricks," he wailed, collapsing to her knees rubbing her eyes. "You still are! I was so scared when you left me and mom was so heartbroken!"

"Let me explain, please," Jack pleaded with the girl. "After I fell through the ice… I… I change. I mean look at me. On top of that I didn't even know who I was and—"

"Stop lying, Jack! Just stop it," she bit out through her sobs. "Nothing was fine after you left! Nothing!"

"I'm not lying to you. I would never lie about something like this," he said, feeling his eyes start to tear up. "Especially not you! You just have to believe me."

"That's wh-what you said just before you… You…," she cried even louder and harder.

"I know, I know," he said, moving towards her. "Everything going to be fine. I promise."

"Th-then why didn't you…" she cried as Jack knelt in front of her. "It wasn't s-supposed to end like that! We should h-have gone home—together."

"Yes, we should have but things happened," Jack reaching and put a hand on her cheek. "I can't change that. No one can. But everything happens for a reason. It just takes more time to see it than others."

"That still d-doesn't change the fact that y-you left," she stated, reaching out and hugged. "Please, Jack, d-don't leave me alone again. Come home w-with me. Mom will be so h-happy that you've returned. Pl-please don't go away."

"I won't go anywhere," Jack said as she squeezed him a little tighter.

"You promise?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Cross my heart and hope to—" he paused. _Hope to die…_

"What's the matter?" she asked, looking worried.

"No… I can't," he said, gently pulling her off him.

"Then you don't promise?" she asked, about to break down again. "I knew you were a liar! How could you!"

"How can I make a promise to a lie?" he whispered, starting to shake again. She looked confused. "I didn't walk out on you, I died. I died to make sure you lived! You're just a memory that's been twisted into something else! I can't come home because there is no home to go back to. You're the lie! You're not real!"

"No, Jack, don't," she cried trying to grab him but Jack quickly got back up to his feet. "Please! Please don't leave me!"

"You're just an illusion! You're not my sister," Jack yelled and ran off.

He heard his sister's voice call after him but he wasn't going back. More than anything he wanted to see his family again but not like this. Not in some twisted placed like this. He kept moving until he found a lighted doorway. He was unsure at first. Was it the exit or was another parlor trick? There were no more exits to be had. That had to be it. He quickly dashed towards and soon he found himself standing on an old swing bridge with Pitch waiting on the other side. Was he out? Was he truly out?

"It took you long enough," Pitch called out to him.

Jack let out a shaky breath and started across. The old bridge creaked and swayed under his weight. He slowly but surely made his way across the bridge. He was happy to be away from the maze. He collapsed at Pitch's feet, still shaking. That was the worst place by far. He couldn't imagine the final three and what they were like. He wiped his blooded face off on his jacket as he tried to regain a sense of normalcy.

"What happened to you in there?" Pitch asked, looking down at Jack.

"I don't want to talk about it," Jack's words came out harsher than he meant them to.

"Fine, don't," Pitch snorted, turning on his heel and walked off to give Jack some space.

_I don't think I can do this anymore,_ Jack sobbed, burying his face in his hands. _That was a large chunk of all my fears and doubts just thrown in my face. What else do I have to deal with in this horrid place?_

Pitch waited by the exit, propped up against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked Jack and just scoffed. The brat was actually crying. How ridiculous. How long was he going to have to wait? Pitch guessed they must have been down here close to three days now. He was only guessing.

_I knew I should have been rid of him when I had the chance_, Pitch hissed mentally. _I could've been on my way home by now._

It was a good long while before Jack felt well enough to get up and continue. He slowly dragged himself towards the exit and Pitch. Jack paused as Pitch pushed off the stone wall. There was a bit of tension between them. Jack just shook his head and walked through the carved out door. Pitch followed right after him into a new tunnel.

000000000000000000000000 LEVEL 5 SOUND OF MADNESS 000000000000000000000000

The mood between them was indeed sour. Jack wouldn't even look or even acknowledge Pitch. They two continued on down the dark tunnel not uttering a single word. It took them a while but they came to another chamber. Jack was more than apprehensive to enter the solid stone chamber. It was fairly large and domed shaped. Every little sound echoed loudly on its walls. In the middle sat large dark purple crystal. It just seemed to be floating in midair.

Pitch walked in first looking at just how oddly shaped the chamber was. He noticed that Jack still hadn't budged from the door. He turned to see Jack just hanging out the doorway and little bit slumped. Was the boy giving up? His resolved seemed so strong before but now... Oh, this was priceless. Jack was indeed broken. Pitch smiled.

"What's the matter, Jack?" Pitch leered, walking back to the boy. "Don't tell me you don't wish to continue."

"I-I…" Jack seemed to be a bit more than nervous.

"What?" Pitch snorted. "Either come in or we abandon this quest. Those are your only options."

Pitch was right. Either finish what he started or just turn tail. This was the fifth level. After this level was the vault and two more traps. Suddenly the thought of two more traps sounded like a lot more. Was he going to go through with this or not? His better judgment was yelling at him to leave but his pride was saying continue. He didn't know what do.

"Make your choice or I will make it for you," Pitch threatened, glaring down at Jack. "Now, Jack!"

Jack clinched his teeth and slowly placed a foot inside the chamber. He'd continue. Pitch turned back around and noticed that the crystal was glowing a little bit. How strange. He continued deeper into the chamber with Jack quite a few steps behind him.

"UGH! WHAT IS THAT SOUND," Jack yelled, collapsing to his knees and holding his ears shut. "IT HURTS!"

"What sound?" Pitch shrugged, looking at the boy a little more than confused. "I don't hear anything."

Jack was clearly in pain but there was no sound except for the boy's painful screams. Pitch looked back at the crystal. Maybe it was emitting some sort of sound that he just couldn't hear. He really liked his immunity. While he studied the crystal he never noticed that Jack was back on his feet hold his staff and aimed it right at him. Noticing the lack of screams Pitch turned around just in time to not get iced. What in the world was that for?

"What do you think you're doing?" Pitch snapped as Jack just stared at him. "Well, answer me!"

He only got another blast of ice shot at him. Pitch avoided it but Jack was determined to hit him. What the devil was going on? Pitch quickly materialized his scythe and took a swing at him with his staff. Pitch blocked it only to get knocked back by a blast of wind. Pitch went sailing hard into the wall. He got back to his feet just time not to get hit by another jet of ice.

"Jack, enough! Stop this assault," Pitch yelled at him, holding out his scythe. "What's wrong with you?"

Pitch studied the boy and realized something. Jack's eyes were glassy and he was bleeding from his ears. Pitch's immunity kept from falling under the crystal's spell but he was still venerable to Jack. Father Winter really was determined that no one got their hands on the Permafrost; even if it meant killing the key. He needed to get out of there. He went to head towards either the entrance or the exit but both had vanished. He was trapped in there with Jack.

"Great," Pitch grumbled. "Either I kill you or you kill me. Well, it's not going to be me!"

Jack's face showed no emotion as charged Pitch again. Pitch held up scythe block the attack only problem with Jack shot straight up and attack came from above. Pitch was knocked back again rolling along the ground. He shook his head and turned to see Jack moving towards him again. Oddly enough a long blade of ice had formed on the end of his staff but like Pitch's scythe. Well, now this was going to be interesting. He had never seen Jack use this move before. He even wondered if the boy knew he could do that in the first place.

"All right, so this is how you want to do it?" Pitch sneered as he charged Jack. "Then let's do it!"

The two swung at each other, both blades struck hard. Jack was making this a clear challenge for Pitch. Okay, he was curious to see what Jack had. Pitch threw a cloud of black sand at Jack but Jack blocked by freezing it. Pitch swung again but Jack blocked it with his new ice scythe. Pitch sent another wave of sand at Jack. Jack jumped back and swung his scythe. The blade came down close to Pitch's arm. It cut the fabric a little. Jack really wasn't playing around.

Pitch blocked two more strikes but he wasn't expecting what came next. Jack, with his left hand, had somehow managed to make an ice whip that was barbed to boot. He swung the long thread of ice around faster than Pitch could blink. The ice whip hit hard along Pitch's right arm. It tore into him and knocked the sand scythe out of his hand.

"AAAAAGH!" Pitch let out a scream as he grasped his badly damage arm, blood dripped to the floor. "JACK, STOP!"

Jack didn't even acknowledge him as he went to swing again with ice whip. Pitch quickly jumped back as the whip came down with a mighty crack on the floor tearing it open. This was unreal. Jack would never fight like this. That crystal was to blame. Pitch needed to get over there and destroy it. Only problem was Jack was standing in his way. He'd have to fight to get over there. Pitch looked at his damaged arm. He didn't have a choice. He formed the scythe again.

Just as he was about to go for Jack but Jack sent out a wall of sharp ice spikes. Pitch dodged those but just barely. He needed to get to that crystal or kill Jack. He might be able to get close enough so he'd have to come up another plan. Jack held up his ice scythe and swung down. A blast of pressurized wind hit Pitch knocking him back and cutting him open in areas. Pitch rolled out of the way just as Jack brought the ice scythe down where his head had been. The blade cut into the stone floor. Pitch was beginning to wander if that was even ice.

He got back to his feet and sent a wave of sand at Jack again. Jack blew it around with the wind and sent it all back at Pitch. Pitch quickly dispersed it but found an ice whip speeding towards his face. He fell over backward just as the barbs scratched the bridge of his nose. That was close. A little too close. Pitch rolled over to get back when he realized he had a clear shot of the crystal. He formed a sand arrow and took aim. This was going to end here and now. He fired at the crystal but the arrow went straight through it.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but damn my immunity," Pitch growled making another arrow and aimed it at Jack. "If I can't get rid of that crystal I'll have to get rid of you! No hard feelings!"

Actually there were quite a few hard feelings. Pitch released the arrow and Jack knocked it back with his ice scythe. For someone about to lose all his power he sure had enough to spare. Pitch formed his own whip and wrapped around Jack's foot. He quickly swung Jack up off his feet and hard the ground. Pitch formed his scythe again and went to bring it down on Jack's head. What goes around comes around. Jack rolled out of the way like Pitch had done earlier. Jack then swung a leg under Pitch. Pitch slammed to the ground as Jack grabbed his scythe and swing down. Pitch blocked with his own and not a moment too late. The tip of the blade was only about an inch from his eye.

"Jack, listen to me! Fight this," Pitch bit out, pushing back as hard as he could. "This isn't you! This isn't how you fight!"

Jack didn't budge, instead the tip of the ice blade started to grow. Pitch sent up a wave of sand, finally knocking Jack back. He just barely managed to save his eye. Pitch had to do something to stop this for good. Jack was showing abilities he had never demonstrated before. Pitch dodged another blast of ice. Jack wasn't making it easy to get too close to him so killing him wasn't going to be a walk in the park. But, wait… He turned to look back to look at the glowing crystal. What if he got Jack to destroy the crystal? That might just work but he'd have to survive long enough to accomplish that.

"Okay, Jack, let's end this," Pitch said, running back towards the crystal. _C'mon, follow me!_

Jack quickly raced after Pitch using the wind and cut him off. Pitch slid to stop. Yeah, this wasn't going to be a walk in the park. Jack sent another blast of pressurized wind at Pitch. This time however it little ice needles in it. Pitch covered his face as he was pushed back by the wind. The ice needles dug in deep. Pitch let out a hiss of pain as he moved his arms out his face.

He charged at Jack and swung once again his scythe. Jack countered with is scythe and jumped back to use the ice whip. Pitch dodged. Left! Right Left! Pitch quickly formed his own whip again managed to strike Jack across the chest knocking him back closer to the crystal. Pitch wasted no time charging Jack again. Jack was back up and sent another large blast of ice at Pitch. Pitch jumped up just missing the attack. He brought his scythe down just missing Jack head. The boy turned around. This was it. Pitch's back was up against the crystal and Jack was facing him. But Jack was a lot closer than he had planned. Too close actually.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Pitch yelled fiercely at Jack as Jack raised his scythe up over his head. "Do it if you're going to do it!"

Jack brought the ice scythe down in a flash. Pitch felt the blade dig a little his shoulder as went avoid the blade but he had succeeded. Jack had managed to damage the crystal and a good chunk was taken out of it. Pitch stumbled back holding his shoulder. Jack let out another ear piecing scream as he collapsed to the ground holding is ears again. Jack was clearly writhing in agony. Pitch collapsed to the floor using his scythe to keep him sitting up. Hopefully, this would all stop soon enough. It took a minute or two but Jack stopped screaming and moving. Pitch let out a long breath looking at the motionless Jack.

"Well, that happened," Pitch moaned, looking at his injured arm. "I never knew you had that in you."

Jack wasn't moving at all. In fact Pitch wasn't even sure if the boy was breathing. He painfully got back to his feet and made his way over to Jack. He turned the winter spirit over to check to see if the boy was still with him. He was but barely. He had a feeling that the crystal really scrambled the boy's mind. This had to be it. There was no way Jack was physically or mental well enough to continue. More importantly was Jack aware of what just did? If he was that would be… Cruel.

"Well, we can at least make it to the vault," Pitch moaned, using his good arm to sort of pick Jack up and used Jack's staff a walking stick. "We can sort things out from there."

Pitch half carried half dragged Jack out of the exit that had reappeared. There was another tunnel leading down. Pitch sighed as he looked at the unconscious Jack. There was no telling what Jack was going to be like when he wakes up. Hopefully this would be the end of it. Jack would realize this was a foolish quest and be done with it.

00000000000000000000000000 THE VAULT: POWERLESS 0000000000000000000000000

Jack slowly stirred from his deep sleep. Everything hurt, especially his head. What happened? Did he get kicked by a mule? He slowly opened his crystal blue eyes. The area was unfamiliar to him. Where was he? He slowly moved his head from side to side trying to get an idea of where he was. He was underground? How did he… Oh, yeah… He was looking for the Permafrost with Pitch. Yeah, Pitch… Oh, good grief, Pitch! Everything just hit him like a ton of bricks. What did he do? He was only getting bits and pieces of it right now… He had tried to actually kill Pitch. The last image he had was digging the tip of his scythe into Pitch's shoulder.

"I don't imagine you slept too well," Pitch's voice rang out from around the corner.

Pitch stepped out soaked in a good bit of blood and wearing makeshift bandages out his robe. Jack felt sick to his stomach as Pitch walked up towards him. He really did try to kill Pitch. All those things he did. All those weapons and attacks he made. He had no idea he could do that and even if he did he wouldn't use them in a fair fight.

"Is your brain scrambled or fried?" Pitch asked, stopping just in front of the young Guardian.

"I am so sorry," Jack said, looking like he was about to break down again. "I never meant to—"

"Don't start that again, boy! There's no point in wasting more energy in crying," Pitch snapped, kicking the boy in the foot. "It wasn't your own actions. Now, listen to me close, Jack. Just around the corner is the vault. I can open it if you'd like or we can do what we should have done earlier and leave. Personally, I'd like to leave and you should do the same."

Pitch was clearly pissed off and Jack couldn't blame him. Perhaps it would be best to just leave. Not a single soul has ever made it past the vault door and maybe it should stay that way. No wonder why MiM didn't want the other Guardians down here. There wouldn't be anyone left. Jack hung his head low and clinched his jaw.

"Either leave with me or stay here," Pitch stated. "If you choose to stay I'll open the door for you but I will no longer have any need to accompany you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Jack slowly nodded.

"Then what do you choose?" Pitch asked as Jack slowly looked up at him.

"I… I'll go back," Jack muttered, painfully getting back to his feet.

"Wise choice," Pitch said with a heavy sigh. "Let's go."

Pitch started for the door. Jack sighed looking around a bit. Well, this was obviously never meant to be. He picked his staff up from the wall and started to follow after Pitch. He had failed horribly at this. Pitch had already started back up the tunnel. Jack picked up his pace and caught to Pitch. For once Jack was following behind.

"Don't beat yourself up about not getting in the vault," Pitch grumbled. "No one has ever gotten farther than that. It's not like you broke a record."

"No…"Jack drawled but suddenly stopped moving.

"Hm? C'mon, Jack," Pitch said, turning around. "I'm rather fed up with this place."

He noticed that Jack was just staring down at staff like something was wrong. Jack quickly struck it again the side of the tunnel. Nothing happened. In fact the staff wouldn't even frost over to his touch. No… Jack hit it again against the tunnel wall. Nothing. Sheer panic danced on the boy's face.

"Looks like you used it all up," Pitch stated, walking down to Jack. "Not much of a Guardian anymore, are you?"

"Just rub in a little more salt, why don't you?" Jack bit out, his panic turned to anger. "Go ahead! You wanted something like this to happen! So go on and gloat!"

"Enough!" Pitch yelled, slamming the boy hard into the wall and held him there. "Now you just stop that! Right now! I've been where you are! It not good a feeling but this not how to move on! Trust me on that!"

"Okay, then what am I supposed to do?" Jack snapped, pushing Pitch back. "Even when I didn't have believers I still had my powers! Now I have nothing!"

"Yeah, well join the club and get over it," Pitch growled. "I've been stuck at the bottom for centuries! I wasn't always down there and when I fell, oh yes, it hurt! It hurt like hell! But I managed to pull myself up! Grant it, I'm not where I'd like to be but it's better than where I was! Even after you and the other Guardian ran me into the ground not that long ago I still carried on! I don't give up and I'll keep trying until I get what I want!"

Those last few words struck Jack in a certain way. He blinked with a look of puzzlement on his face. Pitch noticed that gears were turning in young spirit's mind. Was this a good or bad thing? Pitch arched an eyebrow as Jack seemed run over something in head.

"You know, Pitch, you're right," Jack said with a weak smile.

"I am?" Pitch asked, a little confused. Then something dawned on him. "Oh, no! Nonono! Don't you even think about it! Jack, don't do this! That's a very bad idea! I thought was already established that!"

"What do you care you're not sticking around," Jack snorted, going to turn back around but Pitch grabbed his arm and starting pulling him up the tunnel. "Let go of me! Dammit, Pitch! Let go!"

"Are you suicidal? Honestly, are you suicidal?" Pitch snapped as Jack jerked his arm back. "Listen, I know you've hit rock bottom but getting yourself killed is not the way to go about it!"

"You're the one that said—"

"I know exactly what I said but don't do this," Pitch barked, clinching his fists.

"I thought you wanted me dead," Jack drawled, looking Pitch in the eyes. "So what's it to you?"

"I… That's off topic," Pitch bit out.

"No, it's not! Watching me die was the main reason you came, it wasn't so that you could unlock the vault for me," Jack pointed out.

"That last trap really did fry your brain, didn't it?" Pitch hissed, poking Jack in the head. "Listen to yourself!"

"Are you sure it didn't fry yours? What happened? Did… Did you suddenly grow a conscience?" Jack asked, swatting Pitch's hand away. "Don't tell me you're starting to care about my wellbeing?"

"I'm not! Nor would I ever! I'm looking out for myself as always," Pitch replied sharply. "If you died the other Guardians would put my head on a silver platter!"

"I'm calling BS on that," Jack spat out. "You're not just looking out for yourself! Admit it!"

"You want to get in the vault, fine, if it will shut you up," Pitch roared, stomping back down the tunnel. "You're crazy for doing this and I'm crazy for letting you in!"

The two made it back to chamber in record time. They rounded the corner and before them were two large massive doors made of stone, steel, and ice. They stretched up high towards the ceiling a good 100 feet or so. So this was the vault? Jack's mouth hung open as they approached.

"Oh, wow…" Jack hummed his eyes open wide at the sight of the massive doors.

"I really hope you know what you're doing," Pitch said, walking to a pedestal that stood to the left of the vault. "The last two traps are the worst of them all and without your powers…"

"I know…" Jack said, looking down at his old crook. "Trust me, I know."

"I'm going to ask you one last time to forget about this mission and go home," Pitch said, dusting off the old pedestal. "But you're not going to listen, are you?"

"Nope," Jack huffed as Pitch found what he was looking for.

"Stubborn mule. Okay… The key is my voice. I'll start the spell to open it but it's a bit long," Pitch said, looking at the faintly painted words before clearing his throat. "To those that seek what lies within, be forewarned my dear friend, inside awaits what you do seek, but please listen to me while I speak, while the vault hold a treasure plenty, for you I have no pity, for while you march on to your death, I warn you will draw your final breath, two more traps will seal your fate, turn around now before it's too late, should you win this final trail, I bid you go with a smile, for if you gain the Permafrost, then I know it is I that have lost."

The massive doors rattled and creaked before there was a loud boom. A large rush of air exited the vault doors as they opened wide. The gust was strong enough to knock back Jack and Pitch. The air spelt old and musty. Clearly no one had been in there for a very long time. Both of them got up but only Jack walked towards the door. So this was it. The final two levels and he had lost the last of powers while he was mindlessly fighting Pitch.

"All I can say to you is good luck because you're going to need it," Pitch said, tuning around.

"You don't want to watch?" Jack joked but Pitch just kept moving away. "Wait… You are really are leaving…"

"I told you once the door was opened I had finished my duty. I have no other reason to remain," Pitch answered just before he rounded the corner.

Jack stared into the dark abyss of the vault. So this was it. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea especially now that Pitch just walked out on him and that he a used up every bit of his powers. Jack clinched his staff hard and began making his way inside. He had to try. Maybe, just maybe, the fates would be kind to him. Well, of course it was just wishful thinking.

0000000000000000000000000 LEVEL 6 ALL THAT GLITTERS 00000000000000000000000

Jack stepped in and had a good look around. The space was large, empty, and very dark. It wasn't too late yet. He could still turn around right now a catch up with Pitch. All the fears from earlier started to creep back in. His body tensed as he struggled to swallow the knot in his throat. He gripped his staff even harder as he slowly made his way into the darkness.

The farther he got from the door the darker it became. He no longer had his staff to light the way and he wasn't blessed with Pitch's ability to see in the dark. When he turned to look at the door it seemed far off and shrouded in mist. He could still… No, he got farther than anyone before him. He was going to continue.

He let out a deep breath and pressed on. Soon the door was no more and Jack was wandering blind. He kept his staff out in front of him to feel for any steps or drop offs. Just how big was this vault? It felt like he was going around circles again. Finally his staff struck something. He reached out and down finding a set up steps. He carefully made his way up about 30 or so steps when he hit the landing the chamber burst into a golden light. Jack had to cover his eyes.

When his eyes had somewhat adjusted he noticed that he was surround by mountains of gold and gemstones. Jack's mouth hung open as he took in everything around him. He had only seen such riches in movies. Even the air around him seemed the sparkle with gold. He went to pick up a small ring but pulled his hand back. This had to be one of the traps. It would be wise not to touch anything.

Jack continued on along the small path that weaved between the giant mounds of riches. That path was getting narrower and narrower the farther back he got. He practically had to tread on his tiptoes to avoid touching anything. At least he still had his gift of agility. Just how deep was the vault and how much gold did de Winter have? It was finally getting to that point where no matter where he stepped he was going to touch some piece of treasure. He stood on his tiptoes looking at the path now littered with gold and gemstones. He was going to have to face the trap sooner or later; he couldn't just walk out as he had hoped.

Jack looked down at the treasure that surrounded his feet. He lightly pushed a well-polished opal with his staff. It scooted along the ground a little ways. He waited for something to happen but there was nothing. Maybe he was just being paranoid. He looked back down at the opal and his staff. That was weird. He picked up his staff and looked at the end. About two inches up he noticed that the tip was made out of opal. That wasn't good. He took the hook part of his staff and set it down in one of the mounds. It touched some of the gold and an emerald. The staff took on gold hue that soon became studded with little pieces of emerald.

"Uh-oh…" Jack said, looking at everything in a new light. "Talk about the Midas touch… This is not a good place to be."

So every little piece of treasure was cursed. This was not what he had expected. He was thinking that some sort of monster would come out of the gold if he touched it but this was much worse. The treasure had narrowed so much there was no way he keep moving forward but there was no other path. He no longer held the power of the wind to just fly up and over it. If he wanted to continue he'd have to start climbing over the cursed mounds. Or he could just turn back. This trap was obviously designed for the greedy. He was thankful he hadn't touched that gold ring earlier. He'd have a solid gold hand and as it was he'd have a pair of solid gold legs if he tried to climb. He was at a stalemate with a room of gold. This was foolish.

Jack hung his head low and let out a sigh. He should have left the first time with Pitch but he stupidly got his hopes up again. He was so close and yet so far. He'd have to go back now. He just had to be careful not to become a jewel incrusted gold statue. He clinched his jaw and let out an aggravated grunt. Yeah, he was mad. He managed to make it farther than anyone before him and he had nothing to show for it. He'd have to go back defeated and without his powers. What was he going to tell the other Guardians? For 300 years he helped bring in the winter all over the world but now…

"Dammit," he growled out, looking at the large gold mound before him.

Perhaps this was going to be the most foolhardy thing he had ever done but he wasn't going to give up. He took off his tattered jacket and tore it into pieces. Hopefully his coat would turn to gold before he did. He wrapped his feet up the best he could. He'd have to make a run for it. He had a feeling that the door was just over that mountain of gold and jewels. The climb looked steep and he knew he had no room for mistakes. He'd have to do this in one shot and he had to move as fast as he could. The less contact the better.

Jack let out a sharp breath as he looked at the challenge before him. This was it. In a flash he was off. The climb was shallow at first but it quickly became steeper the higher he went. His coat was already nearly solid gold and jewels and the weight was slowing him down. He used to his staff a couple of times as a pole-vault. Grant it didn't get him far but he help propel him farther up the slope, little by little. When he finally made to the peek he wasted no time to have a look around. His used his new "gold shoes" as a pair of odd skies and slid down the opposite side.

Jack used this crook as a bit of a rudder to steer. He didn't want to look down at his feet in fear of finding them as large block of gold and gemstones. When he hit the bottom of the mound he fell forwards, skidding along the ground. He quickly got back up but found he could barely move his legs. He had turned to gold just below his knees and when he hit the ground a few parts of his torso and arms also started turn into whatever it touch. He then spotted the door. But his feet weighed so much now. He felt like he had cinderblocks strapped to his feet.

He slowly but surely he made his way to the door but he took notice that the areas affected by the curse were spreading. He was hoping that by getting out of the chamber that the curse would subside. At least that's what he had hoped. He was only 6 or so feet from the door but it felt more like 60. Every muscle was starting to harden. He could barely move his legs to get to the door. He was so close now to that final level. He wasn't going to stop. He had to keep moving forward for as long as he could. It couldn't end here! Not like this!

It finally got to the point where Jack couldn't even hold up his own weight. He collapsed back the treasure littered ground. He struggled to crawl along the floor but so much of him had already turned to gold or jewel that he could barely move. He was only like 2 freaking feet now from the door but he could no longer move. Everything froze in place as she felt the weight of the gold creep along his face. Soon he noticed that his vision was going, along with his hearing.

"JACK!"

000000000000000000000000 FINAL LEVEL: INNER DEMONS 00000000000000000000000

Jack awoke with a start, gasping for air. He grabbed his legs and arms in a panic. There was no gold or gemstones to be seen anywhere on his body. How did…? He had pretty much turned solid so how could he be here? Actually, where was here? He turned to his left and saw the door leading to the Midas room as he decided to call it. He never did make it to the door so…

"I would make some golden boy joke but that would be in very poor taste," a voice said, behind Jack.

"P-Pitch?" Jack breathed, looking up at the Nightmare King. "But I thought you…"

"Left? I made it as far as the crystal maze and decided to see this catastrophe through to the end," Pitch said, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. "Apparently I'm immune to even the traps here in the vault. I honestly didn't think I was going to be."

"Is that's why you left in the first place?" Jack grumbled getting back to his feet. "Were you scared that your immunity ran out?"

"No…" Pitch drawled, sarcastically.

"Then why did you?" Jack inquired a bit forcefully.

"Just be thankful in the fact that I came back and saved your butt," Pitch bit out. "I could have just left you to remain as a pathetic gold statue!"

"Whoa! Are you saying I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth?" Jack snapped.

"Yes," Pitch hissed. "Technically I helped you cheat when I was to remain a neutral party, remember? So don't be ungrateful!"

"I'M NOT," Jack yelled.

"WELL, YOU CERTAINLY HAVE A BIZARRE WAY OF SHOWING GRATITUDE," Pitch yelled back louder.

"FINE, THANK YOU," Jack yelled again.

"YOU'RE WELCOME," Pitch also yelled.

"WHY ARE WE YELLING?" Jack hollered at the top of his lungs.

"I DON'T KNOW," Pitch yelled with a shrug.

Jack then started to laugh and hard. This boy had more mood swings than Pitch could shake a stick at but it was a rather odd moment. Slowly Pitch started to chuckle as well. Jack was laughing so hard he had to wipe the tears from his eyes. It took a couple of moments before they could breathe again.

"Ow, my sides," Jack smiled.

"Well, now that that's out of our system…" Pitch said, catching his breath. "You ready to continue and get this over with?"

"Yeah," Jack nodded his smile fading a bit. "You still haven't answered why you really came back, though."

"I did tell you. I came back to finish watching this to end and see if you get killed," Pitch stated but Jack shook his head. "Do I have to explain everything little thing to you?"

"If you had wanted me dead you would have left me as a statue," Jack pointed out, picking up his crook off the ground. "Be honest, Pitch, why did you come back?"

Pitch drew in a breath and slowly let it out, scratching the side of his face. Jack was waiting for an answer. Well, this was awkward. How to answer Jack was rather tough. So, he just turned on his heel and quickly hurried down the corridor. Jack stood there a moment a little confused.

"What? H-hey, stop avoiding the question," Jack snapped, running after the older spirit.

By the time Jack caught up to Pitch they were in the doorway of the final trap. The room was circular and composed of different tiers all leading up to a white glowing crystal obelisk at the very top and center. So this was it? This was the final level he had to face. Jack felt nervous again. He doubted Pitch was going to raise a finger this time to help. He didn't even expect Pitch to help him at all during this. Jack let out a sigh started to walk through the door, only to have Pitch blocking him with an arm.

"What?" Jack asked, looking at Pitch.

"I need to show you something first," Pitch said, making a come gesture and walked back up the corridor and pointed to a small plaque. "I saw this as we came here. I didn't think too much of it at first but…"

Jack looked at the plaque. He wasn't that greatest reader in the world. He slowly read over it trying to figure out what it said. He was starting to feel embarrassed for taking so long to read it. Pitch seemed to notice the boy struggling and sighed.

"It reads: To the traveler that stands before this plaque, I hope you don't expect any slack, you have reached the point of no return, now you must show me what you have learned, here you must stand and face your ghost, for it knows what hurts you the most, to you this is my very final warning, pray you live long enough to see your next morning," Pitch read aloud, before turning to Jack. "You do understand what it says, right? To face your own ghost?"

"I'm assuming my inner demons…" Jack whispered, casting his eyes to the floor.

"Oh, very good," Pitch grinned. "You're not so dense after all. Can you fight yourself, I wonder?"

Jack dropped his shoulders. This was his final test to get the Permafrost. He had a feeling it was going to be far worst then the mirror maze and that maze really did its damage. How was he going to face his inner most self? Everyone is their own worst enemy. That's a widely known truth but he had to try. There was no going back now. He came this far he had to continue.

Jack drew in a shaky breath as he finally lifted his head and started back down the corridor. Pitch was right on his heels. They both stopped at the entrance again. Jack knew that once he stepped in he was going to have to prove that he was a better than all his doubts, fears, and shortcomings. How he was going to do that he didn't know but standing around looking into an empty room was getting him nowhere. He quickly mustered up his courage and pride and took that fateful step into the final camber.

The moment he was all the way in he felt like his very essence was pulled from the top of his head and out through the soles of his feet in one swift motion. He stumbled felling dizzy. He landed on his hands and knees, gasping for air. What was that? He felt strange.

"Oh, no, Jack," Pitch called as he went to go to the boy but wall of heavy ice sealed off the door. He started pounding the ice but it didn't even crack. "Jack! Jack, can you hear me? I can't see anything!"

"Neutral parties must remain neutral, Black, you aided him once that will be enough interference from you," a voice rang out from up above. "Besides he's your enemy after all, there's no sense in being chummy."

Jack knew that voice all too well. It was his own voice but the tone was different. It was deeper and a very threatening. Jack lifted his head to look around. Everything was coated in ice and snow. He got up to his feet and slipped falling back to the ground. That was weird. He shouldn't slip on the ice and why was he so cold all of a sudden. This didn't make any sense. He was actually starting to shiver. Why was this happening to him?

He turned to look at the door where Pitch was locked out of the room. He focused on his reflection in the ice wall. No, that couldn't be right. Could it? He looked down at his hands they were a nice bright healthy tone with the exception of his fingers turning a touch red. He reached up and plucked a strand of hair from his head. It was brown, a nice earthy brown. His heart started to race into his throat. He was… He was…

"Human. Hahaha! Well, this really does give me the advantage," the voice cooed in his right ear.

Jack was then shoved across the floor. Jack landed hard as he slid along the ice. He sat back up to see a version of himself that made him shiver for a different reason. This was the person he feared the most staring him in the face. There was a menacing grin on this dark version's lips and a look of malice in his dark blue eyes. He wore the trademark hoodie but the color was a dark navy and the pants were solid black. His hair also wasn't a silvery white, it was more like a rich pewter gray.. In his hand was the old crook but altered into the ice scythe again.

"Surprised to see me? Well, don't be I've be hiding inside you for years," Dark Jack leered. "I'm everything you hated about yourself. The self you wanted to keep locked away and never show to anyone. Well, I don't want to be locked up anymore. I'm here and I plan to stay—out. Here are the stakes and I'll put them in simple terms so you can understand. You beat me, which you won't, you get to walk out of here with the Permafrost, but if you fail, which you will, you will cease to exist and I will become an actually entity. Grant it I can't get my hands on the Permafrost, but hey, at least I won't have to live in your subconscious anymore."

"But the staff it's…" Jack said, getting back his using the old crook.

"Your staff, not mine," Dark Jack snorted, spinning the scythe around in a well-practiced manner. "I'm fully powered and ready to get this slaughter underway! You allowed me to practice earlier on Pitch now I get to try all this stuff on you."

Dark Jack aimed the ice scythe at his better counterpart. This was not going to be good, not at all. Jack had no advantage whatsoever. He was now back in his human body and that made him weak to just about everything, especially the cold and ice. His feet were starting to burn already from the freezing temperature of the ice. This was not going to be an easy task.

A moment later Dark Jack sent a blast of ice out at his counterpart. Jack barely at time to get out of the way but another blast was soon sent he way. He barely missed getting hit by the one as well. He didn't see the ice whip until it was too late. He slid across his bare back tearing his back open. Jack collapsed to the icy floor screaming in pain.

"Get up, you lazy louse! I'm going to play this out," Dark Jack hissed, kicking Jack in the side. "GET UP!"

Jack painfully got to his feet, holding his staff out in defense. Dark Jack smiled at his good half in a mocking way. Oh, yes… He wasn't going to give this weak creature a quick end. He was going to drag it out until Jack was begging for it. He was going to break him down bit by bit.

"That's better," Dark Jack grinned, slashing with his scythe.

Jack jumped back to avoid getting cut but he noticed small ice needles burrowing into his skin. He grunted in pain and tried to pull them out. Dark Jack then came in with another swing of the scythe. Jack hit the ground to avoid the scythe and its needles. Those needles that were still in skin dug in deeper. This was in no way a fair fight. Jack rolled out of the way as the scythe nearly sliced his head open.

"You still got your reflexes at least," Dark Jack commented as Jack got back to his feet. "But they won't save you. You're struggling just to stand up straight on the ice."

"Shut up," Jack snapped at his evil twin.

"Oh, what's the matter don't want hear about how weak you are?" Dark Jack mocked, forming the ice whip again. "How 'bout I cut your ears off so you can't hear me anymore."

He swung the whip around and brought it towards Jack's head. Jack ducked again but he could feel the barbs scrap along his scalp, taking hair and skin with it. Blood quickly started run from his hairline.

"Well, I'd guess you'd call that a close shave," Dark Jack laughed. "Oh, do be careful. Blood is a nasty thing to get in one's eyes. Kind of makes it hard to see."

Jack then suddenly took off and tackled his counterpart to the ground only to get kicked off. Both Jacks got back to their feet, well, one did, the other floundered around a bit to get his balance back. Dark Jack didn't like that last attack. Grant it, it wasn't much of one but he was knocked clear off his feet.

"Lucky move," Dark Jack hissed, sending a blast of ice at Jack.

Jack dodged one blast after the other but he did finally slip. A blast of pressurized wind him hard. It cut straight into his leg. Jack went down, holding a gaping wound in his left leg. Blood coated his fingers and tripped onto the ice. Dark Jack walked over to him and knelt down to look at his handiwork. He smiled watching Jack try to scoot away from him.

"Bit by bit, my friend, I will tear you part," Dark Jack said, reaching out to Jack's throat and started from ice around it.

"Y-you know…" Jack shivered, looking his dark side in the eyes. "It's a nasty th-thing to get blood i-in one's eyes."

Jack pulled his hand from his leg and slung a good helping of blood into Dark Jack's eyes. The ice spirit stumbled back as he tried to remove the sticky red substance. Jack picked up his crook again and hooked it around Dark Jack's throat. Using all his weight and strength he managed to spin his dark counterpart around on of floor before releasing him like a Frisbee. Dark Jack slid until he slammed into the wall. He wiped the last of the blood from his face just in time to see Jack come at him with his staff raised, ready to beat the hell of him. Dark Jack quickly manifested his ice whip again and swung it around. With one loud snap Jack's staff was severed in two.

Jack slid to an unsteady stop as he looked at the severed end in his hand. The hooked end was several feet from him. Dark Jack got back up to his feet and practically growled at his polar image. Jack took a weary limp back from his approaching counterpart.

"Powerless and now weaponless," Dark Jack mocked, ripping the bottom half of the staff and ripped from Jack's hands. "This just isn't your day."

Jack went to punch his twin but was quickly blocked by an opened palm. He hand was quickly started to freeze over. Frostbite was possible. His feet were already past the point of burning, they were numb and starting to turn more purple than red. Jack was then shoved back to the ground onto his wounded back.

"Oh, you're making this too easy for me," Dark Jack said, placing a foot on Jack's middle and freezing him to the floor. "You're too damn nice. That's your problem."

"R-release me," Jack ordered, trying to break the ice from around his middle.

"No," Dark Jack hummed. "Oh, this is just too much fun but that's what we like, isn't it? Fun? It's going to be so much fun when I destroy the other Guardians. Slow torture just like what I'm doing to you. Especially, dear sweet Toothiana. Yes, she will be the topping on the cake. Just think what I can do with her."

"I-I won't let th-that happen," Jack yelled only to get kicked in the face.

"Shut up! You know what I'm talking about, don't you? But not in the sweet tender way you would do it," Dark Jack said, as Jack spit out blood. "No, I'd just take it and enjoy it while she screams for me to stop."

"You…" Jack choked.

"Kind of hard to talk with all that blood in your mouth," Dark Jack smiled, smacking him in the face. "So keep your mouth shut. I already told you, you can't win. There is no scenario where you come out on top. You're no saint, Jackie. You've had a bad streak in you a mile wide since you were old enough to understand what a lie was. You're a trickster. Mull that over and let it set in. You destroy everything you touch. You're a failure!"

"N-no, I'm not," Jack stated, still struggling under the ice. "I-I am no failure! I m-made it this far, d-didn't I?"

"Only because Pitch cheated," Dark Jack bit out, pointing at the door. "You should have remained as a statue!"

"Th-then you wouldn't b-be here now," Jack mocked, with a sarcastic grin. "Be gr-grateful…"

"What? Oh, don't even start that with me," Dark Jack hissed, smacking Jack again I the mouth.

"Wh-why? Because I'm n-not the most gracious p-person out there I-I know that," Jack stated. "I l-like getting gratitude I d-don't like giving it v-very often. That's s-something I'm just starting t-to understand since I became a Guardian. I was gr-grateful to Pitch but I was also r-resented having to thank m-my own enemy. I-I wanted to pr-prove I could do on m-my own."

"But you couldn't, could you? That just shows how weak you are," Dark Jack grunted. "You had to rely on someone else to help you."

"Th-that's not a w-weakness," Jack snapped only to get his mouth hit again but with the staff this time.

"Keep talking like that and I'll break your jaw," Dark Jack warned with a bit of a snarl.

Jack paused, looking up at his inner demon. A good amount of blood was pouring out of either side of his mouth. He was having to spit out as much blood as he could to keep from chocking on it. He began to realize something. Whenever he pointed out the truth, his counterpart didn't like hearing it. He wasn't completely helpless. Words could be a weapon if used correctly. He smiled looking up at his dark side.

"What are you smiling at?" Dark Jack inquired with a drawling tone. "It's creeping me out. Stop it."

"Th-there's nothing wrong with r-relying on others that w-want to help you," Jack grinned. "I-I just didn't l-like the idea of w-working with others because I-I was scared of responsibility a-and commitment. I got use t-to relying on only myself and d-doing things my way. I-it's a habit I'm still f-fighting with. Not everything c-can be done alone."

"What did I say about keeping your mouth shut?" Dark Jack spat out with venom, about to kick Jack again in the mouth.

"The tr-truth hurts, doesn't it? I-I'm greedy and s-selfish at times. I can a-act like a real brat. I-I carry a lot of pr-pride with me to the point th-that I come off as being c-conceited at times. Th-that being s-said I don't like cr-criticism," Jack belted out only to get hit in the mouth again.

"Shut your damn mouth," Dark Jack growled as Jack tried not to choke on his blood.

"**COUGH!** I-I also can get mad wh-when I don't get my w-way. I don't always sh-show it, instead I hold i-it in," Jack spat out. "But I-I have a wild t-temper **COUGH!** when I'm f-finally able let loose and sh-show it! I like to p-pick at people and belittle th-them when I get the ch-chance! I like to make p-people angry because I f-find it fun! Like Bunny, I-I enjoy aggravating him b-because I know I can! Is it r-right? Probably not b-but that's just who I a-am! **COUGH!** I've told m-more lies then I care to a-admit not just to other p-people but to myself j-just so I can justify m-my actions and make me f-feel better! I also have s-some confidence issues s-so I put up a bold fr-front to keep out any u-unwanted criticism! And I h-have my own fears th-that I fight with daily!"

"You don't know when to shut up," Dark Jack yelled, putting the tip of the ice scythe under Jack's chin.

"I-I've always had a rambling m-mouth, that's something I've always kn-known," Jack stated, through a clinched jaw. "It's g-gotten me in trouble b-because I say what I'm thinking f-far too often. When I w-was younger I couldn't k-keep a secret to save m-my life and I still b-backtalk others."

"I said: shut up," Dark Jack snapped harshly pressing the tip of up into Jack's skin. "I'll cut out your entire jaw! I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense!"

"But m-my biggest fault **COUGH!** i-is that I'm scared o-of myself and what I-I could potentially do," Jack said, feeling tears start to run from his eyes. "I-I have the power to m-make people happy and h-have fun but **COUGH!** I-I also have the power to destroy a-and hurt others. Always a-at the back of my m-mind I think about what I-I can do to people **COUGH!** e-especially when I get mad. O-oh, I've thought of s-some really nasty th-things. But I have a str-strong enough conscious that k-keeps me from committing th-those vile acts. I keep you l-locked away so I d-don't become just like you b-but you're always **COUGH!** in there a-and you will c-come out from time t-to time! I'm not a-a saint and I'm n-not perfect. I'm a brat a-and a showoff. I like b-being **COUGH!** the center of attention a-and causing a raucous! I-I admit all my faults a-and accept who I am! B-both the good a-and the bad in m-me!"

"You bastard!" Dark Jack yelled as he rammed the scythe clear through Jack's jaw. "You just couldn't shut up! Now neither of us is going to win! I told you that you would never come out on top! Now look what I had to do!"

Dark Jack took a step back as the ice and snow around him started to break up and evaporate into the air. The ice barrier around the door started to crumble. Pitch was finally able to break through it and step into the chamber. He was greeted by a sight he wasn't expecting. There were two Jacks in the room; one was slowly fading into nothingness along with the ice the other was motionless on the ground. What had happened in here? Dark Jack turned to look at Pitch. He stuck his tongue out in a mocking manner before he vanished completely with the ice.

"Oh, jeez, Jack," Pitch called out, running to the boy. "Jack? Jack…?"

The once proud ice spirit looked human and he was soaked in blood from head to foot. He wasn't moving at all and he didn't even look like he was breathing. Pitch bit his lip. He knelt down and examined the boy up and down. There was a gaping wound coming for the base of his jaw clear up into his skull and he was making a faint gurgling sound. The boy was basically drowning in his own blood.

"Jack, can you hear me?" Pitch asked but there didn't seem to be any life in the boy's earthy brown eyes. "Jack, c'mon… You're this close to get the Permafrost! You can't die now!"

Pitch thought about carrying Jack the rest of the way but that might just hasten his death. The boy was going to die regardless. He was practically on Death's doorstep right now. He turned to look back up at the obelisk; it was now a vivid blue. Curiosity got the better of him. He climbed up the different levels and stood before the 30 foot tall monument. He walked up to the structure and saw a panel cut out of it. He pressed on it slightly as it slid down revealing a compartment; a very empty compartment… There wasn't even a single piece of dust to be seen. Wasn't the staff supposed to be in there? He was pretty sure of it. Grant it, the Permafrost was useless to him but he at least wanted to see it.

"What a waste," Pitch growled with his jaw clinched. "What a damn waste! It's not even here!"

Pitch punched the side of the obelisk in anger and frustration. They went through all that only to find nothing? Had this whole adventure been just one giant setup? Countless fools tried and died to obtain something what wasn't even there? Pitch's blood started to boil the more he looked at the empty compartment. If this was de Winter's idea of joke it wasn't a very good one. He started circling the base hoping there was another opening but there was none.

"I don't believe this…" Pitch grumbled, shaking his head and started back down the tiers.

He stopped and looked back down at Jack. The boy went through all that just for one great big lie. Aleister de Winter really had no intentions of ever giving up his prized staff, not even to someone that had fought as hard as Jack had to earn it. The gurgling sounds in Jack's throat had stopped. Surely the boy must be dead by now. His brown half opened eyes looked distant and unmoving.

0000000000000000000000000000 WINTER AND FROST 0000000000000000000000000000

The space was black and the air was void of all sound. The only thing he was feeling was the icy coldness and a sense of weightless floating. There wasn't even a current moving him about the empty space. He was just there, suspended in the black vacuum that incased him. How long had he been there? When did he get there? How did he there?

Then slowly he started see something small above him. It flashed and floated down from the darkness above. It seemed so bright against the void as though it were a free floating piece of light, perhaps even a falling star. It fell softly on down past his head. More started to manifest, dotting the darkness like little dancing stars. They started to fall around him in a pure white light. Suddenly, the air filled them and they started to form shapes as they landed in the space around and above him. As more landed the void wasn't so dark.

Trees started to show, along with rocks, hillsides, dried grass, and a pond. Everything was covered in a white light that now seemed more like sundrenched snow. He suddenly wasn't floating anymore put resting on one of the small hillsides overlooking the glassy pond. There were two figures standing out on the pond; a young girl and soon to be young man.

He studied them for a moment when he realized that was his sister and himself out on the pond. There was still no sound but the images played on. He couldn't move. It was like he was a spectator just watching it all unfold. There was nothing he could do even if he could. He watched it all unfold from a different perspective. He watched as the hooked his trusted crook around his sister and moved out of harm's way only to land on the small patch of thin ice. In an instant he fell through and was lost under the frozen surface. Time shifted in a why he had never seen before. It was like everything was being fast forwarded.

He watched as his sister tried to figure how to get to him. She then ran off only to return with their mother and some men from the village. They tried to break to through the ice to get to him. Some were even brave to try and dive to retrieve his body. Obviously, none succeeded. The day began to unfold into evening. A small funeral was held with the local pastor standing on the bank along with the members of the village. People left while only two figures remained after the sun had set; his mother and sister. Finally his mother took his sister away out of the cold night air.

He watched as the full moon above rose over the trees and the passage of time slowed again. The light of the full moon blanketed the surface of the icy pond and slowly a small patch of ice began to break a part. From the ice he floated out of the dark water and into the light of the full moon. He was now Jack Frost. It would be a little over 300 years before he would ever join the Guardians. Right now, he watched his younger self first discover his powers, mainly, his first attempt at flying. Yeah, that was a rather rough landing. Eventually, his past self left the pond to go explore the village.

But he remained unmoving as he sat on the hillside, overlooking the glassy pond. What was the point of showing him all this? A moment or two later he felt a present standing beside him. The figure sat down beside him also looking out over the moon lit pond. He slowly turned to see who was beside him. To his dismay it was his dark doppelganger. His double said nothing; he just stared out at the pond.

The air was still, cold, and silent. Time seemed to fast forward again. It changed from day to night and eventually the seasons started to change with the daylight. He pulled his knees up to his chest as he watched everything change around him in rapid succession. It was fascinating to watch but also rather haunting. He could trace how the sun varied in the sky, depending on the season not to mention the phases of the moon. He got a sense of the world spinning as he watched the stars circle around. He could see how storms developed and dispersed. The world just carried on through its normal every changing but predictable cycle. Grant it, it would vary but winter always became spring, spring grew into summer, summer faded into fall, and finally fall giving way back to winter.

"You were close you, you know that?" the double said, scooting up a little closer to him. "You were so very close to achieving your goal. But you neglected one thing."

Jack still said nothing as he noticed that the village was slowly growing closer to the pond and becoming more modernized little by little. He felt his darker side lean up against him and draw in close to his ear.

"What didn't you confess, Jackie?" the doppelganger asked in a low voice. "I suggest you hurry. Once this passage of time stops so does your existence. You're running out of time."

"What didn't I confess…?" Jack whispered, turning to look back at his twin.

"Surely you must know the answer to that," Dark Jack said with a sneer. "You were given a clue, just so you know."

Jack pondered for a while. He confessed all he could think of. So what was he forgetting? There was something… Something… He didn't know. Time seemed to be going by faster now. At this point he didn't care if he no longer existed. He was tired. So very tired.

"Think! Think as hard as you can," his twin snapped, shaking him. "You were given a clue! I can't tell you the answer! C'mon, dammit!"

"I don't think I can do this anymore…" Jack said, knocking his double off.

"Don't start that! Look at me!" Dark Jack snapped, grabbing his double by the shoulders. "You have to complete this! You're dying, which is why you feel this way! You've got to complete this! What is the answer? What do you need to confess? What are you feeling right now?"

"I'm just tired…"

"That's not it! What are you feeling? I can't help you any more than that!"

"Regret…"

"Regret for what? C'mon, Jackie!"

"Regret I didn't win this."

"What else?"

"Regret that I didn't get to do much good for children as a Guardian."

"There's more to it than that! What is it you regret most?"

"Please, just let me be…"

"What is it that you regret the most? TELL ME!"

"I regret not being there for my family and I regret not being able to watch my family grow. I regret in some ways that I died even though I did it so that my little sister could live. I regret so much because I had no memories of who I was until a few months ago. Even if they couldn't see or hear me, maybe if I had known, I could have shown them somehow I was still there. I could have watched over them. I never even got to say goodbye to them or anything. I was just—gone..."

"Is there anything else? Time is beginning to slow down again! You're almost out of time! With all your regrets what else is there? Why do you feel all this?"

"I don't know…"

"C'mon! You need to finish this! You've confessed your anger, your fears, your regrets, and your bad habits. But there is something else! What are they to you?"

"They make me who I am, I guess…"

"There's more to it! What are they to you? Where do they come from? All of these emotions and falts?"

"I don't know! I don't know! I'm a screw up! Does answer anything? I have doubts about myself like everyone else! I-I-I make mistakes constantly! And I do mean—constantly! To err is human, right? That's all I really am, is human! Which you made perfectly clear when we fought! I-I was weak and couldn't really defend myself against you… A sheer force nature… I felt so small and… And…"

Jack paused as he looked at his double. He was on to something, wasn't he? There was a certain look in his double's eyes. Jack mulled over what had said. That was it, wasn't it? He let out a long breath, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's it, isn't it? No matter what power I have, I'm still human. I'm going to have good traits and bad traits. I have a choice to do either good or bad. By taking away my powers and letting me fight as my true self I learned what it was like to be an average person again. It's painful and rather humbling to be like that. Especially, going up against a force of nature. Being Jack Frost I was indeed a force of nature and there were times I got careless. I have hurt people, not intentionally of course, but I can abuse my powers at times. I never really did think of myself as such a force but I really was. And a human can't fight such a force and really expect to win. I'm just human but with a power that can help or harm. That power was given to me and I wasn't born with it.. It's what I choose to do with that given power that makes the difference. I need to remember that I'm going to be human in the end and no amount of power is ever going to change that fact. I'm still human but I'm also a force of nature to sum everything up and I have to remember that."

"So you've figure it out, have you?" A new voice said from behind.

Jack turned around to see an old looking man with a long white beard that came down near to his knees. His head was bald and he had a rather large nose. He was dressed in a shimmering white robe with a white fur cape. His skin was pale and his eyes were such a pale blue they looked almost white. In his hands was a very intricate staff. It was so white it had a bluish sheen to it. It was inlaid with fine gold etchings and at the very was a blade that looked like a half a snow flake but was shape more like crescent moon and sitting in the middle was a shimmering blue orb. Was that it? Was that what the Permafrost looked like?

Jack turned back to his double to longer find him at his side. Jack continued to look up at the old man as he steadily walked closer. Jack was finally able to get back to his feet and greet the elderly man. He was a little taken aback by the man's presents. The old man, Aleister de Winter, stopped about 4 feet from Jack and smiled a bit. Jack gave a simple head nod as a response.

"Jack Frost, is it? Jack Overland Frost is your full name," Aleister said, looking the boy up a down. "I must say I'm rather quite impressed. Here I was expecting something else to finally best my fortress. Here I get mere slip of a boy and one who has yet to celebrated his first millennium."

"I'm not following," Jack answered, lightly shaking his head.

"You're still young, Jack, but you've shown more wisdom than others older than you," Aleister stated. "You came here seeking my Permafrost not so much as a way to boost your power but to replace what you were losing. You had no other intention for my Permafrost other than to use it as you had your old crook."

Jack's old staff appeared whole and in Aleister's left hand. There wasn't a scratch on it and it glowed with a vibrant light. It looked brand new, really.

"You don't seek its power. You also learned what it's like to fight a force of nature, which is good, so you know what it would feel like should you even do something you shouldn't," Aleister pointed out as Jack looked shocked.

"I wouldn't in the first place. I want to use it to protect people. I'm a Guardian," Jack stated, boldly. "I could never forgive myself if I did something like that."

"Yes, one of MiM's best and brightest. I can see why he would want you to protect the future," Aleister said with a slight sigh. "You should know that despite your staff losing its own abilities you never really lost yours until the final battle. You have power in yourself that you really haven't even explored. It was that power in you that mended your crook in the first place. Now why haven't you developed them?"

"I… I don't know… I just always relied on using my staff," Jack said with a shrug. "It was there. It was something solid that could just cling to—"

"It was just a crutch, Jack, but now it's time to learn to stand on your own without it," Aleister said as crook vanished like powdery snow in the wind. "Taking the Permafrost means a lot more than you think. Taking the Permafrost means also ascending to a throne."

"Uh…" Jack's blue eyes grew wide and his dropped. "What?"

"I'm sure you know there are other ice entities out there by now," Aleister said, bluntly. "I use to rein over them. I use to keep them in check but there came a time when I could no longer do that. I used the last of my powers to create those traps to safeguard my Permafrost and I used Pitch as the reluctant key to the vault."

"What did happen to you?" Jack asked, crossing his arms.

"A battle I both won and lost. The giants of the north wanted to use my staff to bring about another ice age. I lead an army against them," Aleister stated as the scenery around them changed to that of a battle. "We ultimately drove them back but I was wounded badly. I knew I didn't have much longer to live but I knew I couldn't leave my Permafrost unguarded and without a proper master."

"So you constructed this place as a safe hold?" Jack asked and the old man nodded.

"I knew that one day someone with the right courage, tenacity, and heart would come along and finally earn the right to own my Permafrost," Aleister said as the world went back to the black void. "That being said, even with Pitch's meddling, I think you have earned it as you did actually win the final fight. You know your strengths and you know your weaknesses. When taking this staff you must understand this goes far beyond your duties as a Guardian. It's not just children you protect, but the real bulk of the world. You will have to keep the balance at all times. Other ice entities will challenge you for your position. Don't let them. Show them that you are the new ruler. I would suggest getting in contact with Mother Nature to help start you off. Just don't tell Pitch."

"Why not?" Jack asked, looking confused.

"Hmmm… Well, they have a rather—complicated and muddled history," Aleister said, stroking his long beard. "Yes, it might do you well not to mention any sort of meetings with her."

Jack still looked a bit lost. What was between them that might start a problem? He might just ask the other Guardians about that later.

"Hey, uh, how is it that I'm in this place and you're here with me?" Jack asked, scratching the side of his face. "And just where are we?"

"This is your inner most mind. Here time seems to travel at a normal pace but in reality all of this is happening in the blink of an eye," Aleister said as an image appeared. It was a hazy image of Pitch he looked like he practically standing still. "This is what you are seeing currently but as we are moving at a faster pace time out there seems to have stopped. This is why I'm able to talk to you. Also I am just an imprint generated by the obelisk. I'm just a memory more or less."

"Huh… Pitch looks a little disappointed," Jack mused.

"You do know that you are on verge of death, don't you?" Aleister said as the space around them went back to the growing Burgess and the ever changing days and seasons. "Once the seasons and the days stop moving you finally meet your end."

"Whoa, hold on! I don't understand. If I won then why am I…?" Jack asked rather puzzled.

"You died when you first went from being Overland to Frost and I think it's only fitting the same happens again. It's just a rebirth if you will," Aleister clarified, before holding out his staff. "If you wish to take this staff into your hands you know the responsibilities attached to it. It will help guide you but it is a tool not the source of your abilities. That comes from within you, so master them. And once you've master your own gifts the Permafrost will be your greatest companion. If you decline this staff I can only return to you your life. Not as a spirit of ice but as simple mortal boy, just as you are now. So, will you Guardian Frost take this staff from me and rule with a firm and just hand as I once did?"

The prospect of being a normal, living person again did sound… Well, it sounded tempting. He could interact with others and make even more friends. Hell, he could have his own family but… That would be selfish. He took an oath to protect the children as a Guardian. He wouldn't be able to do that if he was mortal. Not dwelling on that thought any longer he reached out and took the Permafrost. Aleister's old knobby hand drew back and a smile appeared under his thick whiskers.

"Well done. Guard that staff well, Lord Jack," Aleister said, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Keep in mind that no matter what you are still human at heart and all that it entails. You are also a force of nature so choose your actions carefully."

Jack turned to look back at the staff in his hand. He started to feel cold again as the seasons started to creep to stop. It was nearly the end of fall and soon snow started to cover the earth again. Jack felt Aleister's hand move from his shoulder. He watched at the old man just vanish into snow, being blown about by the wind.

Then everything became still and quite. Snow stopped in midair and the wind stopped blowing. Nothing moved one iota. Then the space faded back into the void taking everything, including Jack with it.

0000000000000000000000000000000 KINK VS KING 0000000000000000000000000000000

Pitch scratched the back of his head. What was he to do with the body? He could just leave him here but… No. He might as well return him back to the Guardians. He went to pick Jack up only to have the light from obelisk start to intensify. It was so bright it was physically starting to hurt him. He quickly took shelter in the darkness the tunnel.

"What the devil was that?" He asked as he waited for the light to ebb away.

It took a while but the light finally faded enough for Pitch to reenter the chamber. To his surprise Jack was no longer on the ground bloodied and broken. Instead he was seated quite proudly in front of the obelisk. Pitch was a little awe struck to say the least. It was Jack alright but he was also very much different. His silver/gold eyes took in sight before him still almost not believing.

Jack's was still had his usual silver white hair but just a little bit longer than before. And his blue eyes were even more intense than they normally were. He was dressed rather nicely. It looked like something noble might were but simple. His shirt was shimming icy blue and his pants were bright white. However, the most stunning difference about Jack was that he no longer looked link a gangly teenager. He looked a good bit older possibly somewhere in his mid-20's. His body had bulked up some and was just a little bit taller than he had been previously. And to Pitch's amazement in his lap rested the Permafrost.

"You're… Uh… Different," Pitch choked out a little lost for words.

"I guess I am," Jack said with a smile. "But just physically. I'm still me."

Jack got up to his feet and quickly flew down, landing beside Pitch. The boy had indeed gotten taller. They were almost eyelevel with each other now. Pitch of course was still taller, regardless. They said nothing for a bit. Finally, Pitch cleared his throat to speak.

"How did you… I mean, I thought you were dead?" Pitch asked as Jack let out a sigh. "You were chocking on your own blood."

"I pretty much was dead. I learned a lesson and one I don't plan to forget," Jack stated, holding out his hand and formed a large delicate snow flake. "It's was a personal one… Hey, you do realize what my new position is, don't you?"

"Oh, yes, I know," Pitch mused, watching the snowflake spin on its end in Jack's hand. "Now you will be an even greater thorn in my side from here on out."

"Ah, don't talk like that," Jack hummed as the snowflake disintegrated. "You're the one that helped get me here."

"And you're going to always hold that over my head," Pitch grumbled. "The one time I play hero and it becomes back around to bite me."

"You honestly didn't think I'd make it this far?" Jack chuckled lightly, resting his new staff on his shoulder. "You have no faith in me."

Pitch snorted and turned towards the door. Jack quickly picked up his feet to follow him back into the tunnel. Jack noticed that Pitch did look rather bitter about the whole thing. In some ways Pitch had a right to be. He helped one of his own enemies gain a stronger power. He even set himself up for failure in the future. Yeah, there wasn't anything good going in Pitch's direction. Jack bit his lip and picked his feet a little more to match Pitch's hurried stride.

"Are you really that disappointed?" Jack asked as Pitch's face darkened. "You didn't have to come back after you opened the vault. And you still haven't answer why you did return."

"That's none of your business, Frost," Pitch said, picking up his pace a little more using the shadow to propel himself faster down the tunnel back to the Midas room.

Jack sighed and followed after him. When they arrived at the room they found it to be barren. There wasn't a single jewel to be had; just a wide empty cavern. Pitch took the first step in and kept moving. Jack followed closely behind him. The tension between them had grown thick suddenly and growing thinker by the second. Pitch's decision to save Jack was starting to weight down on him. He realized he had made a mistake and there was no way to fix it. It was just eating at him from the inside out.

"Hey, stop," Jack said about halfway across the cavern. "Pitch, I said to stop!"

Pitch reluctantly stopped but didn't turn to face the new King of Winter. Jack instead walked around him so that were face to face. Pitch was fighting the urge not to snarl or even strike out at him. He kept his silver/gold eyes down at the rocky ground.

"Pitch, look. Part of this was your choice," Jack pointed out. "You didn't have to come and open the vault. You didn't even have to follow into the vault but you did. Brooding over it isn't going to change the fact that helped me."

"It's a mistake I do hope to rectify," Pitch bit out, sending a blast of black sand at Jack, knocking him back. He quickly formed whip and slapped the Permafrost from Jack's hands. "I don't know what got into me and I can't believe ever wanted to help you!"

"Pitch, stop it! Now you want to turn on me?" Jack bit out, glaring at the Nightmare King.

"I never thought you'd make it as far as you did," Pitch snapped, sending another wall of sand at Jack.

Jack quickly held up his hand and closed his eyes. The Permafrost was a tool not his source of power. He focused in on the air around him. He didn't know how much control he would have but… With a strong push he sent the wave of black sand back towards its conjurer. The wind whipped sand hit Pitch hard, knocking back to the ground, rolling. Jack took in a breath and looked at his hand. He had very little control but at least he managed to do something without a staff. He quickly made the wind bring him back the Permafrost. By then Pitch was getting back up to his feet again. He looked a little bit past angry. His teeth were clinched tightly as he snarled at Jack.

"Pitch, that's enough! I'm still learning how to control everything," Jack stated, holding out the Permafrost as Pitch formed his scythe. "Don't do this! I'm libel to get both of severely hurt!"

"Shut up!" Pitch growled with venom, gripping the handle of his scythe hard. "You didn't honestly think I'd just let you leave with that staff, did you?"

"Listen to what you're saying! One second you seem like you're more than happy to help and now you're back to wanting to kill me," Jack pointed out jumping into the air as Pitch charged him with the scythe.

"That's because the realization of what you could do finally struck me," Pitch said, using his sand whip to snag Jack out of the air back to the hard ground with a meaty thud. "With you being both a Guardian and the Winter King I won't ever stand a chance a beating any of you!"

Jack quickly rolled over and aimed the Permafrost at Pitch. Now would be a good time to see how much power he now possessed. Pitch charged him again with scythe ready to swing. In one quick movement Jack shot a black of frozen energy at Pitch. The blast quickly covered him a thick layer of ice. Pitch couldn't move and he was frozen to spot. Just looked down at the Permafrost and blinked. Yeah, this was going to take a lot of practice to master.

He got back up to his bare feet and took a few steps. He knew Pitch didn't have much power but he was quickly shown how much he currently had and Jack knew this wasn't his full potential. Jack looked at the frozen Nightmare King and shook his head.

"You know, for some off the wall moment I honestly thought you still had a bit of a heart," Jack grumbled, his showing hint of anger. "But I guess that was hoping for too much. You're still going to be you no matter what. You can just stay here until you cool down a bit."

(A/N Oh, wow this chapter was running far too long! It will now be a 3 chapter story. Sorry I know. It just kept going and going and I was like that's just too much. Anyway, if you like please review! I do love reviews! Later y'all!)

Millie M. Banshee


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